Kellie Pickler

With her charming, Southern girl persona and endless drive, "American Idol" (Fox, 2002- ) finalist Kellie Pickler went all the way to the top of the charts and established herself as one of country music's more successful young artists. Kellie Dawn Pickler was born on June 28, 1986 in Albemarle, NC. The future singer had a difficult childhood, mostly as a result of her absentee relationship with both her mother, who was convicted for prescription forgery, and her alcoholic father, who served a succession of prison time. At age two, her mother left Pickler under the care of her paternal grandparents. Growing up, Pickler frequently sang with her grandmother as they read children's musical books together. In 1995, Pickler's mother resurfaced and was granted legal custody of her daughter. The two, however, did not get along, which led to Pickler moving back in with her grandparents. While her early years were not always rosy, Pickler thrived in high school, where she was a cheerleader and held a job as a roller-skating waitress at a Sonic restaurant. In 2004, she won the Miss Stanly County beauty contest before advancing to the Miss Carolina pageant, but was ultimately eliminated. An undeterred Pickler next auditioned for the fifth season of "American Idol" in Greensboro, NC and made it through to the semi-finals round in Hollywood.

With her loveable demeanor and "just fell off the turnip truck" personality, Pickler quickly became a favorite with not only the fans, but the judges as well. While she entertained viewers with her ditzy antics - such as mispronouncing "salmon" and revealing that she has never heard of calamari - some critics felt they were calculated acts. Also, Pickler's limited vocal range hampered her performances of Queen's classic rock anthem "Bohemian Rhapsody" (1975) and The Righteous Brothers' love song "Unchained Melody" (1955), resulting in her elimination in the sixth round of the semi-finals. But she was not down on her luck for long. Her debut album, Small Town Girl (2006), debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, thanks to its catchy lead single, "Red High Heels." In 2007, Pickler broke down during her performance of her single, "I Wonder" (2007), a deeply personal song about her fractured relationship with her mother, during the televised special of the "41st Annual Country Music Association Awards" (ABC, 2007). Her tear-jerking performance earned her a 2008 CMT Award for Performance of the Year, in addition to winning Breakthrough Video of the Year for "I Wonder." Also in 2007, she appeared on a celebrity edition of the quiz show "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?" (Fox, 2007-09), during which she exposed her lack of knowledge that France and Hungary were countries. In 2008, Pickler nabbed the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart again with her second self-titled album. In June 2010, after dating for more than two years, Pickler married songwriter Kyle Jacobs, in an intimate ceremony on a private island in the Caribbean.