AKA Kellie Dawn Pickler

Born: June 28, 1986
Location: Albemarle, North Carolina, U.S.
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Genre(s) Country pop
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Father: Clyde Pickler, Jr. ("Bo")
Mother: Cynthia Morton
Brother: Eric
Boyfriend: Jordin Tootoo (NHL player)
Kellie Dawn Pickler (born June 28, 1986) is an American country music artist and television personality. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the FOX reality show American Idol, eventually finishing in sixth place. In 2006, she signed to BNA Records as a recording artist, releasing her debut album, Small Town Girl, late that year. The album, which was certified gold by the RIAA, produced three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts: "Red High Heels" at #15, "I Wonder" at #14, and "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" at #16. The first single from her self-titled second album is "Don't You Know You're Beautiful". It was released in mid-2008 and reached the Top 25. The second single from her self-titled album is "Best Days of Your Life" which she co-wrote with Taylor Swift.
Early life
Pickler was born at Stanly Memorial Hospital in Albemarle, North Carolina, to Cynthia Morton and Clyde "Bo" Raymond Pickler, Jr. When Pickler was two, Cynthia left Kellie, and her father, Clyde, has been in and out of jail her whole life.Therefore she lived with her grandparents. The major influences in her life are her grandfather,(retired) electrician Clyde Raymond Pickler, Sr., and grandmother Faye Pickler. She was raised in Palestine, a small town near Albemarle. She has a half brother named Eric, a half sister, Courtney, and a half brother, Michael, however, she has never met Michael. After her grandmother's death from lung cancer in January 2002,[3] she continued to reside with her grandfather and her younger sibling Eric until she became a contestant on Idol. Pickler graduated in 2004 from North Stanly High School in New London, North Carolina. She was a cheerleader and beauty queen. She sang "On the Side of Angels" by LeAnn Rimes at her high school graduation.
She worked as a waitress at a Sonic Drive In franchise and, in 2005, she made an appearance on WSOC-TV's Gimme the Mike! Charlotte contest. She finished in second place. She participated in the Miss America circuit and won the "Miss Stanly County" pageant at age 17 and subsequently competed for Miss North Carolina 2004. She dropped out and later focused on paralegal studies.
American Idol
Main article: American Idol (season 5)
The 19-year-old Pickler auditioned for American Idol in the fall of 2005 in Greensboro, North Carolina. She sang both Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" and Martina McBride's "A Broken Wing". The judges sent her to Hollywood. Pickler advanced through the semi-final rounds in February. On March 9, she reached the Top 12.
Pickler was among one of judge Simon Cowell's favorites. He once predicted Pickler would be in the final three, and said he preferred her over the previous season's winner, Carrie Underwood. Recognized for her "quirky" personality and Southern charm, Pickler gained attention on the show by saying that she had hardly ever performed before real audiences, and by mispronouncing words. She was compared to Jessica Simpson in a March 27 story in US Weekly magazine entitled "Kellie: The Next Jessica Simpson", due to her "sweet Southern style and ditzy demeanor". Pickler has stated several times that she was not heavily exposed to modern pop culture.