 | | In 2005, singer Kellie Pickler landed a spot in the fifth season of American Idol. Though she finished sixth, the former waitress and Miss North Carolina contestant charmed American audiences with her Southern twang and blonde ambition, resulting in a contract with BNA Records that yielded her debut album, Small Town Girl, in the fall of 2006 and an eponymous sophomore release in 2008, which yielded Pickler's first Top Ten hit, “Best Days of Your Life,” a song she co-wrote with Taylor Swift. |
 | | The first country singer to win American Idol, Carrie Underwood grew up in the small town of Checotah, Oklahoma, and began singing with her church at the tender age of three. |
 | | Although initially known as the winner (along with Apolo Anton Ohno and Helio Castroneves) of two consecutive seasons of Dancing with the Stars, Julianne Hough also enjoyed success as country singer. |
 | | Before becoming one of country music's most popular females, songwriter Miranda Lambert grew up in Lindale, Texas, a small town 80 miles east of Dallas. |
 | | Taylor Swift became one of country's brightest (and youngest) faces in 2006, when the 16-year-old released her first album. |
 | | Rock-influenced country singer Bucky Covington first rose to fame in 2006 as a contestant on the televised talent hunt American Idol. |
 | | Sugarland, the platinum-selling contemporary country act, began as a trio of songwriters from the Atlanta area, each of whom had enjoyed some level of renown as a solo country artist. |
 | | Josh Gracin was born October 18, 1980, and grew up in Westland, Michigan. He performed at fairs, music competitions, and other venues as a young man, and did the vocal for a demo version of a song ("She Loves Me," written by Ken Salaets and Tim Barbor) in Nashville in 1996 when he was only 16 years old. |
 | | A gifted country songwriter and singer, Ashton Shepherd was born August 16, 1986, in Coffeeville, Alabama. |
 | | Born in the small Tennessee town of Scotts Hill, Whitney Duncan developed a passion for music as a child and was soon singing in church, expanding to performing at local talent shows, fairs, and festivals, and even traveling to neighboring states like Kentucky and Missouri to sing at events. |
 | | Already having made a name for herself as the highly energetic frontwoman of new country trio Trick Pony, Heidi Newfield decided upon a solo career, and in November of 2006 announced that she was leaving the group and going it alone. |
 | | Formed in 2006 by Charles Kelley (brother of singer/songwriter Josh Kelley), Hillary Scott (daughter of Grammy-winning country artist Linda Davis), and Dave Haywood, Lady Antebellum make contemporary country music that relies on the trio's rich harmonies and impeccable instrumental skills. |
 | | Sister trio SheDaisy (or SHeDAISY, if you're picky) rode in on the late-'90s wave of female country-pop, following in the stylistic footsteps of Shania Twain, Faith Hill, and the Dixie Chicks. |
 | | In 1996, LeAnn Rimes burst out of nowhere with her debut single "Blue," which immediately captured the attention of country fans across America. |
 | | A country trio known primarily for its pleasing harmony and Grammy-winning songcraft, Rascal Flatts are comprised of Gary LeVox, Jay Demarcus, and Joe Don Rooney. |
 | | |
 | | Country singer Ashley Monroe was already a seasoned show business veteran when she released her self-titled album in 2007 at the tender age of 19. |
 | | Though Taylor Hicks' quirky soulfulness made him 2006's American Idol, runner-up Katharine McPhee's classic good looks and voice and affinity for traditional pop made her a strong contender throughout the season. |
 | | The winner of Fox TV's first American Idol competition during the summer of 2002, Kelly Clarkson went from an anonymous talent to a nationally known singer in a matter of months, performing for an audience of millions. |
 | | One of the biggest female country stars of the '90s and 2000s, Faith Hill also took advantage of the inroads Shania Twain made into pop territory, becoming an enormous crossover success by the end of the millennium. |
 | | One of the most popular female country singers of the '90s, Trisha Yearwood initially rose to fame as a protégée of Garth Brooks but quickly staked out her own identity as an assertive yet vulnerable modern woman. |
 | | Another teenage female country star to join the ranks of LeAnn Rimes, Lila McCann debuted singing "You Are My Sunshine" with her father's country band at the tender age of four. |
 | | Sarah Johns grew up in Pollard, KY, and spent much of her youth singing in her church choir. Forbidden by her parents to listen to secular music, Johns began sneaking home Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette cassettes, which later helped inform her songwriting. |
 | | Contemporary country singer/songwriter Brad Paisley was born October 28, 1972, in Glen Dale, West Virginia; given his first guitar at age eight, he delivered his first public performance at church two years later. |
 | | When golden-voiced Erika Jo became the winner of the USA Network's Nashville Star, she was the youngest contestant to enter the three-season-old talent competition, her big win enjoyed the highest ratings yet, and she not only won a recording contract, but a fully loaded Chevy Silverado pickup. |
 | | Formed in 1989 as a Western-themed bluegrass band, the Dixie Chicks eventually became one of the most popular acts in contemporary country music, as well as the highest-selling female group in America. |
 | | With his raspy, soulful voice and salt-and-pepper hair, Taylor Hicks was one of the unlikeliest contestants to make it to the final round of American Idol, but his quirky charm and rousing delivery of songs like "Takin' It to the Streets" won Hicks a devoted legion of fans called the Soul Patrol and the title of the fifth-season American Idol. |
 | | Though she didn't begin her musical career until relatively late, Deana Carter managed to defy conventional expectations and unexpectedly shot to the top of the country charts upon the release of her 1996 debut, Did I Shave My Legs for This? Carter's success was equally unexpected considering that she didn't quite fit into the mold of a standard female contemporary country singer. |
 | | Emerging in the mid-'90s, Shania Twain became the most popular country music artist since Garth Brooks. |
 | | Phil Stacey's first appearance on the sixth season of American Idol was a memorable one, as it was revealed that the Navy officer was missing the birth of his second daughter in order to audition for the show in Memphis. |
 | | Only 16 and a junior in high school in Snellville, GA, Diana DeGarmo was the youngest finalist of American Idol 2004, but you wouldn't have guessed it from her powerful, confident voice. |
 | | Contemporary country singer Martina McBride rose to stardom in the late '90s, starting out with a more traditionalist approach and later moving into more pop-friendly territory. |
 | | In late May 2004, Gretchen Wilson's debut single, "Redneck Woman," became the first by a solo female singer to top the Billboard country singles chart in over two years; it also reached number one faster than any single in the previous decade. |
 | | When Tim McGraw debuted in the early '90s, few would have predicted that he would eventually take over Garth Brooks' position as the most popular male singer in country music. |
 | | In 2004, Michelle Branch took a break from her successful solo career to team with friend and touring backup singer Jessica Harp in a new project called the Wreckers. |
 | | The country vocal quartet Little Big Town began with Kimberly Roads and Karen Fairchild, two Georgia natives who began singing together in college. |
 | | David Archuleta became one of the most recognizable figures on television in 2008, when his tenor vocals and boyish charm helped earn him a second-place finish on American Idol. |
 | | A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Carmen Rasmusen was born March 25, 1985, in Edmonton, Canada, though she grew up in Bountiful, Utah. |
 | | Part of country music's late-'90s crop of female crossover stars, Jo Dee Messina's appeal nonetheless remained more with country fans than pop audiences. |
 | | Although born in New Zealand and raised in nearby Australia, Keith Urban made his biggest splash in Nashville, where he helped rewrite the rules of contemporary country music. |
 | | Mindy McCready's debut album, Ten Thousand Angels, elevated her into Nashville's music spotlight and established her as a promising singer. |
 | | When he was four years old, Chris Cagle moved from Louisiana to the outskirts of Houston, where he grew up. |
 | | Country singer and songwriter Sarah Darling was born October 4, 1982 in Des Moines, Iowa. She first entered the public eye in 2003 when she was a top-three finalist on the reality TV show The Entertainer, hosted by Wayne Newton. |
 | | Bo Bice proved that American Idol could have a rocker as a finalist, but Chris Daughtry proved that the show could generate a successful rocker outside the context of the show. |
 | | Husky-voiced American Idol singing sensation Harold "Bo" Bice hailed from Helena, AL, and brought his Southern sensibility with him to the fourth season of Fox's long-running talent contest. |
 | | |
 | | Country singer and songwriter Randy Houser was born and raised in Lake, Mississippi, where his love of music was apparent even as a young child. |
 | | A female country traditionalist during a time when they were quite rare around Nashville, Sara Evans gained her RCA contract in 1996 after her rendition of Buck Owens' perennial chestnut "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail" impressed its songwriter, Harlan Howard, so much that he considered himself duty-bound to help her. |
 | | Country singer Jason Michael Carroll is a rootsy artist with a rocker's edge. Carroll was raised in a strict religious family in North Carolina and had little contact with secular country music. |
 | | Tennessee native Jessica Andrews was born into a musical family, and found singing was her niche in a fourth-grade talent show. |
