Kellie Dawn Pickler (born June 28, 1986) is an American singer and finalist on the fifth season of American Idol.
Pickler was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her mother abandoned her at age three, and her father, Clyde Pickler, described by Kellie as having had a lifetime problem with drugs and alcohol, is currently serving a 3 year 9 month prison sentence at Florida State Prison for aggravated assault and battery, stemming from a 2003 stabbing incident.
Pickler moved to the Charlotte suburb of Albemarle with her grandfather. There she has worked at Wal-Mart and as a waitress at a Sonic Drive In franchise. As an active participant in the Miss America circuit, Pickler won the "Miss Stanly County" pageant at age 17 and subsequently competed for Miss North Carolina 2004. In 2005, she made an appearance on WSOC-TV's Gimme the Mic! contest and took second place.
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". Pickler advanced through the girl's semi-finalist rounds in February and March, reaching the Top 12 On March 9. On March 14th she performed a Stevie Wonder song, "Blame It On the Sun", without acclaim by the judges. On March 21st, she performed "Walkin After Midnight" by Patsy Cline to praise from the judges.
Pickler has gained attention on the show by saying (for example) that she had never performed before real audiences, mispronouncing "salmon" as "sal-mon", and confusing "minx" with "mink". 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."
Performances:
Semi-finals:
February 21, 2006 - "How Far", Martina McBride
The judges agreed that her vocal performance wasn't the best, but cited her personality as a primary reason she would go far.
February 28, 2006 - "Something to Talk About", Bonnie Raitt
The judges were complimentary and felt it was an improvement over the previous week.
March 7, 2006 - "I'm the Only One", Melissa Etheridge
The judges were complimentary. Simon called her a "naughty little minx." Kellie misunderstood the comment as him calling her a mink.
Finals:
March 14, 2006 - "Blame It on the Sun", Stevie Wonder
Received poor reviews from judges. Simon said it was boring.
March 21, 2006 - "Walkin' After Midnight", Patsy Cline
The judges enjoyed her performance.
March 28, 2006 - "Suds in the Bucket", Sara Evans
The judges thought it was a bad song choice.
April 4, 2006 - "Fancy" by Reba McEntire
The judges thought she did very well in her home genre. Before the performance, Seacrest asked whether her naïvité was authentic, and Pickler stated that it was.
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