Who is Miranda Leigh Lambert? The entertainment and country music world knows her as Miranda Shelton. Shelton is an American country music/Texas Country artist who gained fame as a finalist on the 2003 season of Nashville Star, where she finished in third place and later signed to Epic Records. Lambert made her debut with the release of "Me and Charlie Talking", the first single from her 2005 debut album Kerosene. This album, which was certified Platinum in the United States, also produced the singles "Bring Me Down", "Kerosene", and "New Strings". All four singles were Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.After Epic's Nashville division closed, Lambert was transferred to Columbia Records Nashville for her second album, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which was released in early 2007. Although the title track failed to make top 40, the next three singles ("Famous in a Small Town", "Gunpowder & Lead", and "More Like Her") were all Top 20 hits, with "Gunpowder & Lead" becoming her first Top 10 country hit in July 2008. Lambert's third album, Revolution, was released in September 2009. Five singles have been released from the album, including Lambert's two Number One hits "The House That Built Me," which spent four weeks at the top of the chart, and "Heart Like Mine". Lambert has also been honored by the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards, and the Country Music Association Awards.
Early life
Miranda Leigh Lambert was born November 10, 1983 in Longview, Texas and raised in Lindale, Texas. Her father, Richard Lee "Rick" Lambert, is a retired police officer who in later life became a private investigator in partnership with her mother, Beverly June Lambert (née Hughes). Miranda was taught about guns by her father at an early age and later became an avid deer hunter. Her parents took her to a Garth Brooks concert when she was nine and this started her interest in country music. Her father wrote and performed country music and she soon began singing in talent contests under his tutelage.At age sixteen, Lambert began appearing on the Johnny High Country Music Review in Arlington, Texas, the same show that helped launch the career of LeAnn Rimes. Lambert quickly landed a recording session in Nashville, but left the studio after she became frustrated with the "pop" sound of music. She then went back to Texas and asked her dad to teach her how to play guitar so she could write her own songs.[3][4]
While still in high school, Lambert made her professional singing debut. She fronted the house band at the Reo Palm Isle Ballroom[5] in Longview, Texas, a long-running venue that has showcased Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, and is where Brooks & Dunn started out as a bar room band.
Music career
2003-2006: Kerosene
In 2003, Lambert auditioned for the talent competition Nashville Star, eventually becoming a third-place finisher on the show. On September 15, 2003, she signed with Epic Records.[6] Her debut single, "Me and Charlie Talking" (co-written by her father and Heather Little), was released in summer of 2004 as the lead-off single to her debut album. Titled Kerosene, Lambert's first album comprised twelve songs, eleven of which she co-wrote. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts,[7] and eventually gained a Platinum certification by the RIAA for shipments of over one million copies,[8] selling more than 930,000 copies up to July 2008.[9] Overall, the album produced four Top 40 singles on the Billboard country charts, including the title track which was a Top 20 hit. Lambert also toured with Keith Urban[10] and George Strait[11] in early 2006. In 2007, she toured with Dierks Bentley and Toby Keith.[12]2007-2008: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Lambert's second album, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was released on May 9, 2007. She wrote eight of the album's eleven tracks,[13] including its four singles. Much of the track "Gunpowder & Lead," the album's third single and her highest-charting single, was written while she was taking a concealed handgun class in her home town.[14]In 2005, at the 40th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, Lambert won the Cover Girl Fresh Face of Country Music Award. She was also nominated for the Country Music Association's Horizon Award in 2005; in 2007, Lambert also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her single "Kerosene". She also won the Top New Female Vocalist award at the 2007 ACM (Academy of Country Music) Awards. At the 2008 ACM (Academy of Country Music) Awards, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend won Album of the Year.
Lambert was ranked #90 on the 100 Greatest Women (of Country Music) by Country Universe in 2008.[15]
2009-Present: Revolution
During this time, Lambert (along with two other singers), became the new face of Cotton Inc.’s revived “The Touch, The Feel of Cotton” campaign.[18] She has appeared in ads to promote cotton, and the website features a free download of the full version of her song, "Fabric of My Life."[19]
Lambert debuted her new single, "Dead Flowers", at the 44th annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 5, 2009.[20] It was released to country radio on May 4, 2009, and was a minor Top 40 hit on the charts.
On September 24, 2009, Lambert and her band performed all the tracks on Revolution in sequence at the Ryman Auditorium, five days before its scheduled release date.[16]
Upon the release of Revolution, Lambert's work was met with significant critical praise.[21] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 85, based on 11 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[21]Rolling Stone magazine praised the album saying, "Lambert remains country's most refreshing act, and not just because she makes firearms seem like a matter-of-fact female accessory." Entertainment Weekly magazine said, "She's found stylistic shades of songwriters twice her age..." and that the album is "...a portrait of an artist in full possession of her powers, and the best mainstream-country album so far this year." Boston Globe commented that “Revolution’’ is the sound of Miranda Lambert coming into her own." Slant magazine also had high praises reserved for the album saying, "Miranda Lambert expands on her fascinating, fully realized artistic persona on Revolution."
The album's second single, "White Liar", was released on August 17, 2009,[22] and debuted at #50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. In February 2010, "White Liar" became Lambert's highest-charting single to date, reaching a peak of #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
In promotion of Revolution, Miranda Lambert launched a headlining tour; Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars kicked off in March 2010 and included stops in over 22 cities, as well as a performance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival.[23]
"The House That Built Me," the album's third single, was released on March 8, 2010 and became a #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It retained this position for four weeks and it received a platinum certification from the RIAA on July 8, 2010.[24]
"Only Prettier" followed as the album's fourth single in July 2010 and its accompanying music video became somewhat viral. The music video for "Only Prettier" was directed by Trey Fanjoy and filmed in Joelton, Tennessee in June 2010,[25] and premiered on VEVO on August 3, 2010.[26] It features a 1950s theme and cameo appearances by fellow country artists Kellie Pickler, Laura Bell Bundy, and Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum. In the video, Lambert and her friends portray two rival cliques attending a high school sock hop.[27] The alter-egos are shown doing things such as spiking the punch, stuffing their bras and smoking. Ultimately, the alter-egos have a bad time at the party, while Lambert, Pickler, Bundy and Scott enjoy themselves the entire night. Additionally, Lambert is also shown performing with her band on stage at the event. The humorous video introduced Lambert to a larger audience outside of her Country music base.
On September 1 it was announced Miranda led nominations with an impressive 9 CMA awards, setting a record for the female with the most nominations in a single year by the organization. Miranda performed at the 44th Annual Country Music Association Awards on November 10, 2010.[28] That same night she won the CMA Award for Female Vocalist of the Year and Revolution won Album of the Year.[29] Lambert and Sheryl Crow performed "Coal Miner's Daughter" as a tribute to country legend Loretta Lynn, who also entered the stage to join them and finished the song with Crow and Lambert as backup. Later that night, Lynn presented the Female Vocalist of the Year CMA award to Lambert.In December 2010, "Only Prettier", eventually reached a peak of number 12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, giving Lambert her seventh Top 20 hit. The fifth single from Revolution was "Heart Like Mine", which later would become Lambert's second number one hit.
On February 13, 2011, Lambert won a Grammy Award in the Best Female Country Vocal Performance category for "The House That Built Me."[30]
On April 4, 2011 during the taping of the Academy of Country Music's 'Girls' Night Out' television special in Las Vegas, Lambert debuted her new project, girl group Pistol Annies. The group consists of Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley. They released their single, "Hell On Heels", in May 2011.[31]
Miranda Lambert is currently working on two albums which is her fourth solo album and her band "Pistol Annies" debut album.
Personal life
In 2006, Lambert began dating fellow country singer Blake Shelton.[32] Lambert sang background vocals on Shelton's 2008 country cover of Michael Bublé's song "Home".[33] The two recorded and co-wrote duet "Bare Skin Rug," for his studio album Startin' Fires released later in 2008. Shelton also co-wrote three songs on Revolution, and provided background vocals on "Maintain the Pain." On May 9, 2010, Shelton proposed to Lambert, after seeking (and receiving) her father's blessing and they became engaged.[34][35] The two got married on May 14, 2011 at Don Strange Ranch in Boerne, Texas.[35] Wearing her mother's wedding dress, Miranda walked down the aisle and exchanged vows with Blake in front of five hundred fifty family members and friends, including fellow celebrities Reba McEntire, Kelly Clarkson, Cee Lo Green, Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, Charles Kelley, and the Bellamy Brothers. After the ceremony, Miranda expressed her excitement saying, "I'm married to my best friend! Looking forward to a lifetime of laughter."[36]Discography
- Albums
- Miranda Lambert (2001)
- Kerosene (2005)
- Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2007)
- Revolution (2009)
Awards
| Year | Organization | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Country Music Association | Horizon Award | Nominated |
| 2006 | CMT Music Awards | Female Video of the Year — "Kerosene"[37] | Nominated |
| Breakthrough Video of the Year — "Kerosene" | Nominated | ||
| Country Music Association | Horizon Award | Nominated | |
| 2007 | Grammy Awards | Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Kerosene" | Nominated |
| Academy of Country Music | Top New Female Vocalist[38] | Won | |
| Female Vocalist of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Country Music Association | Female Vocalist of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2008 | Grammy Awards | Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Famous in a Small Town"[39] | Nominated |
| CMT Music Awards | Female Video of the Year — "Famous in a Small Town" | Nominated | |
| Academy of Country Music | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated | |
| Album of the Year — Crazy Ex-Girlfriend[40] | Won | ||
| Single Record of the Year — "Famous in a Small Town" | Nominated | ||
| Country Music Association | Female Vocalist of the Year[41] | Nominated | |
| Single of the Year — "Gunpowder & Lead" | Nominated | ||
| 2009 | Academy of Country Music | Top Female Vocalist[42] | Nominated |
| Single Record of the Year — "Gunpowder & Lead" | Nominated | ||
| CMT Music Awards | Female Video of the Year — "More Like Her"[43] | Nominated | |
| Country Music Association | Female Vocalist of the Year[44] | Nominated | |
| 2010 | Grammy Awards | Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Dead Flowers" | Nominated |
| Academy of Country Music | Top Female Vocalist of the Year | Won | |
| Album of the Year — Revolution | Won | ||
| Single Record of the Year — "White Liar" | Nominated | ||
| Song of the Year — "White Liar" | Nominated | ||
| Video of the Year — "White Liar"[45] | Won | ||
| MusicRow Awards | Song of the Year - "The House That Built Me"[46] | Won | |
| CMT Music Awards | Video of the Year - "White Liar" | Nominated | |
| Female Video of the Year - "White Liar" | Won | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Female Country Artist | Nominated | |
| Choice Music: Country Song - "The House That Built Me" | Nominated | ||
| 16th Inspirational Country Music Awards | Mainstream Inspirational Country Song, "The House That Built Me" | Nominated | |
| Inspirational Country Music Video, "The House That Built Me" | Nominated | ||
| 8th French Country Music Awards | Best Female Vocalist of the Year (Meilleure Chanteuse) | Nominated | |
| Country Music Association | Entertainer of the Year | Nominated | |
| Female Vocalist of the Year | Won | ||
| Album of the Year - Revolution | Won | ||
| Musical Event - "Bad Angel" (with Dierks Bentley and Jamey Johnson) | Nominated | ||
| Single of the Year - "The House That Built Me" | Nominated | ||
| Single of the Year - "White Liar" | Nominated | ||
| Song of the Year - "White Liar" | Nominated | ||
| Song of the Year - "The House That Built Me" | Won | ||
| Music Video of the Year - "The House That Built Me" | Won | ||
| Music Video of the Year - "White Liar" | Nominated | ||
| American Country Awards | Artist of the Year[47] | Nominated | |
| Female Artist of the Year[47] | Nominated | ||
| Album of the Year - Revolution[47] | Nominated | ||
| Single by a Female Artist - "White Liar"[47] | Nominated | ||
| Music Video by a Female Artist - "White Liar"[47] | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | Grammy Awards | Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "The House That Built Me" | Won |
| Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — "Bad Angel" (with Dierks Bentley and Jamey Johnson) | Nominated | ||
| Best Country Album — Revolution | Nominated | ||
| Academy of Country Music | Entertainer of the Year | Nominated | |
| Top Female Vocalist of the Year | Won | ||
| Single Record of the Year — "The House That Built Me" | Won | ||
| Song of the Year — "The House That Built Me" | Won | ||
| Video of the Year — "The House That Built Me" | Won | ||
| Video of the Year — "Only Prettier" | Nominated | ||
| CMT Music Awards | Female Video of the Year — "The House That Built Me" | Won | |
| Video of the Year — "The House That Built Me" | Nominated | ||
| Collaborative Video of the Year — "Coal Miner's Daughter" (with Loretta Lynn and Sheryl Crow) | Nominated |
Touring
Tours
Sun City Carnival Tour(w/ Kenny Chesney,Lady Antebellum,Sugarland & Montgomery Gentry (2009)[48]"Amarican Saturday Night Tour 2010" (w/Brad Paisley,Justin Moore)(2010)
Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars (w/Chris Young,Randy Houser,Luke Bryan,Eric Church,James Otto,David Nail,Wade Bowen,Jake Owen,Cross Canadian Ragweed((2010)
CMT On Tour: Miranda Lambert Revolution(w/Eric Church & Josh Kelley(2010)[49]
"Miranda Lambert: Revolution Tour 2011"(w/Justin Moore,Josh Kelley & Little Big Town) (2011)
Band
Lambert's road band and crew consists of the following:[50]- Aden Bubeck — bass guitar
- Chris Kline — keyboard, harmonica, pedal steel, percussion, guitar
- Alex Weeden — lead guitar
- Scotty Wray — rhythm guitar, lap steel guitar, resonator guitar, banjo
- Keith Zebroski — drums
Touring personnel
- Scott Fowler — backline tech
- Jason "Pone" Macalik — front of house engineer, backup bus driver
- Chris Newsom — monitor engineer, production manager, stage manager
- Sammy Bones — backline tech
- Jordan Powell — tour manager
- Jose "Puma" Raices — merchandise manager
- Aaron Luke — lighting director
- Charlie Sherman — bus driver
- David Sherman — bus driver
