Lauren Alaina
Background information
Birth name	Lauren Alaina Kristine Suddeth
Born	(1994-11-08) November 8, 1994 (age 17)
Origin	Rossville, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2011–present
Labels	19/Interscope/Mercury Nashville[1]
Website	http://www.laurenalainaofficial.com

Lauren Alaina (born Lauren Alaina Kristine Suddeth; November 8, 1994) is an American country singer from Rossville, Georgia. Alaina was the runner-up on the tenth season of American Idol. Her debut studio album, Wildflower was released on October 11, 2011.

Early life[link]

Alaina was born on November 8, 1994, to Kristy and J.J. Suddeth of Rossville, Georgia. Her father works as a process technician in Chattanooga, Tennessee.^[2] Alaina is a strong Christian and often states that she lives for Jesus Christ.^[3]

Alaina was inspired to sing by her cousin, Holly Witherow, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor.^[4] Prior to Idol, Alaina worked at CiCi's Pizza. She attended Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, where she was a cheerleader.^[5] Alaina performed at several Chattanooga-area venues and was the first winner of the WinniSTAR youth talent contest at Lake Winnepesaukah amusement park in 2009.^[6][7][8] In addition to performing, Alaina wrote several songs including "Leaving" and "Set Me Free".

[edit] American Idol

Overview[link]

Alaina auditioned for the tenth season of American Idol in Nashville, Tennessee. From early on, Alaina was a judge favorite. After her audition, Idol judge Steven Tyler stated "We found the one." May 14, 2011 was proclaimed "Lauren Alaina Day" in her hometown of Rossville, Georgia. During the season finale, Alaina sang "Before He Cheats" with her idol, Carrie Underwood. On May 25, 2011, Alaina was declared the runner-up.

Performances/Results[link]

• ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Casey Abrams, the Top 11 remained intact for another week, when two contestants were eliminated.

[edit] Post-Idol

Alaina released her single "Like My Mother Does" following the finale of Season 10 of American Idol. The song entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart at forty-nine and the Hot 100 chart at twenty^[9][10] and sold 121,000 copies in its first week.^[11]

Following the conclusion of Season 10, Alaina has appeared and performed on several talk shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Live with Regis and Kelly and The Today Show. On June 8, 2011, Alaina and McCreery presented at the CMT Music Awards. In addition, Alaina made her Grand Ole Opry debut on June 9 and performed with Martina McBride during her LP Field performance at the CMA Music Festival the following day.

The following summer, Alaina toured with the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011, which began in West Valley City, Utah on July 6, 2011 and ended in Manila, Philippines on September 21, 2011.

As the runner-up in the competition, Alaina has been signed to 19 Entertainment, Interscope and Mercury Nashville.

[edit] Wildflower (2011)

On October 11, 2011, Alaina released her debut album Wildflower, which debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold 69,000 copies the first week.^[12] The single "Georgia Peaches" was released on October 24, 2011.^[13]

To promote her album, Alaina has made numerous television and radio appearances. On October 22, 2011, Alaina performed at Opry Goes Pink, a benefit concert at the Grand Ole Opry for Women for the Cure. On November 10, 2011, Alaina performed "My Grown Up Christmas List" on CMA Country Christmas. In addition, Alaina performed for the president in the PBS special In Performance at the White House. Furthermore, Alaina performed the National Anthem at the Thanksgiving Day game between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. On New Years Eve, Alaina performed her single "Georgia Peaches" on American Country New Years Eve Live.

Alaina has been selected to open for Jason Aldean's My Kinda Party Tour.^[14] The tour kicked off January 20, 2012 and concludes on May 19, 2012.

In addition to the My Kinda Party Tour, Alaina has been selected to open for Sugarland's In the Hands of the Fans tour for a number of selected dates, beginning on April 5, 2012.

On March 8, 2012, Alaina performed "Georgia Peaches" on the Top 13 results show for the eleventh season of American Idol. On March 26, 2012, Alaina performed her single "Georgia Peaches" on the Today Show.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lauren Alaina on American Idol
• Official website

Scotty McCreery
Scotty McCreery performing in June 2011
Background information
Birth name	Scott Cooke McCreery
Born	(1993-10-09) October 9, 1993 (age 18) Garner, North Carolina, U.S.
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	2011–present
Labels	19/Interscope/Mercury Nashville[1]
Website	Official Site

Scott Cooke "Scotty" McCreery (born October 9, 1993) is an American singer from Garner, North Carolina. He won the tenth season of American Idol on May 25, 2011. His debut studio album, Clear as Day, was released in October 2011 and was certified platinum in the United States. The album includes the top 20 country songs, "I Love You This Big" and "The Trouble with Girls".

Early life[link]

McCreery was born in 1993 to Judy (née Cooke) and Michael McCreery in Garner, North Carolina.^[2][3] His mother works as a real estate agent,^[4] and his father works as a manufacturing systems analyst.^[5] His father was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico to a Puerto Rican mother from San Juan and an American father.^[6] His mother is the daughter of a retired school teacher from Gates County, NC. He attended Timber Drive Elementary School in Garner,^[5] and later West Lake Middle School where he sang at his graduation. He also attended Garner Magnet High School^[7] where he joined a vocal ensemble, Die Meistersingers, that performs across the United States.^[8] He started out singing tenor.

McCreery won a singing contest called "Clayton Idol" at the Clayton Harvest Festival in Clayton, North Carolina,^[9] and was one of 36 finalists in a "Rip the Hallways" contest featuring teenage vocalists in North Carolina.^[10] He has performed at various local events.^[11] He also attended Caswell Youth Retreat in the summer of 2009, and participated in the talent show there singing Long Black Train by Josh Turner.^[12]

[edit] American Idol

Overview[link]

McCreery auditioned for the tenth season of American Idol in Milwaukee. In the Hollywood group round, he joined the "Guaps" and became embroiled in the drama when fellow group member Clint Jun Gamboa expelled Jacee Badeaux from the group. He later expressed regret for not standing up for Jacee. He was one of the five male vote getters in the semi-final round to advance to the Top 13. In an interview with Ryan Seacrest, McCreery confirmed that he has Puerto Rican ancestry. "Yes, I'm Puerto Rican," said McCreery with a smile. "I have a little bit of J.Lo in me."^[13]

Performances/Results[link]

• ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Casey Abrams, the Top 11 remained intact for another week, when two contestants were eliminated.

[edit] Post-Idol

McCreery released his coronation single "I Love You This Big" immediately after winning the tenth season of American Idol. The song entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart at number 32, becoming the highest debut for a debut single since the chart converted to BDS data the week of January 20, 1990.^[14] The song sold 171,404 units in its first week,^[15] and was certified gold on August 25, 2011. A music video for the song, shot on Angels Point near Dodger Stadium, was released on August 9, 2011.^[16][17]

He signed with Mercury Nashville,^[18] earning a contract that gave him over $250,000 in advances for recording the first album.^[19]

Both McCreery and Lauren Alaina were invited to present at the CMT Music Awards on June 8, 2011,^[20] and they also both performed on the Grand Ole Opry on June 10.^[21][22] McCreery performed "I Love You This Big" and George Strait's song "Check Yes or No." ^[23] Their trip to Nashville was also featured later in an ABC Special CMA Music Fest: Country’s Night to Rock where McCreery performed "Your Man" with Josh Turner at the CMA Music Festival.^[24]

McCreery toured with the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011, which began in West Valley City, Utah on July 6, 2011 and ended in Manila,Philippines on September 21, 2011.

GAC premiered a TV special, Introducing: Scotty McCreery, on October 3, 2011, the day before his debut album is expected to be released.^[25]

On October 19, 2011, McCreery sang the National Anthem in Game 1 of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.

On November 9, 2011, McCreery performed "Walk in the Country" and announced the CMA Radio Stations of the Year honors at the 45th Annual Country Music Association Awards ^[26]

On November 10, 2011, McCreery joined other country stars in Nashville to tape the CMA Country Christmas special that aired on ABC on December 1.^[27]

On Thanksgiving day of 2011, McCreery performed his second single The Trouble with Girls at the 85th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City then headlined the Macy’s Great Tree Lighting at Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta in the evening.^[28]

McCreery performed his second single at the 2nd Annual American Country Awards ^[29] on December 5, 2011 and won in the New Artist category ^[29][30]

McCreery performed "The First Noel" during the first annual CMA Country Christmas.^[31]

McCreery performed on the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade at Walt Disney World on December 25, 2011.^[32]

In 2012, he opened for Brad Paisley along with The Band Perry. The tour kicked off on January 12 with tour dates announced for the first quarter of 2012.^[33]

[edit] Clear as Day (2011)

McCreery's first album, titled Clear as Day, was released on October 4, 2011.^[34] Tracks from the album include a song from Keith Urban,^[35] and the title track "Clear as Day".^[36] A single from this album, "The Trouble With Girls" was premiered on radio on August 30, 2011,^[37][38] and released onto iTunes on September 1, 2011. An exclusive pre-order package on the album was offered in his website on August 8, 2011.^[39] He is the first artist to be featured in Deluxe Edition Of 'ZinePak available exclusively at Walmart.^[40]

The album sold 197,000 on its debut week, and Scotty McCreery made history as the first country act to debut at No. 1 on Billboard 200 with their first studio album, as well as the youngest man to open at the top of the chart with his debut release.^[41] It reached No. 1 on five separate Billboard charts - Billboard 200, Top Current Albums, Digital Albums, Internet Albums, and Top Country Albums.

McCreery's appearance on Today on November 23, 2011 coincided with the news that his debut album Clear as Day had been officially certified as gold.^[42]

Clear as Day was certified platinum with over 1 million units shipped.^[43]

With McCreery's debut album Clear as Day reaching number one on the Billboard 200, he joins Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry (Daughtry) as the only Idol contestants to have a number one album.

McCreery recorded Tim McGraw's "Please Remember Me" and it was released on March 8, 2012. Also, it is used as the exit song on the eleventh season of American Idol.^[44]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Studio albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Singles[link]

• ^ACurrent single.^[61]

Other songs[link]

Music videos[link]

Personal life[link]

McCreery is a professed Christian.^[65][66][67]

McCreery will soon be attending North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.^[68]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site on Scotty McCreery
• Scotty McCreery on American Idol
• Scotty McCreery on IMDb.com

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2008)

Jason Aldean
Background information
Birth name	Jason Aldine Williams[1]
Born	(1977-02-28) February 28, 1977 (age 35)[2] Macon, Georgia, USA[2]
Genres	Country, country-rock
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Capitol Nashville Broken Bow
Associated acts	Kelly Clarkson Colt Ford Miranda Lambert, Ludacris, Brantley Gilbert Lionel Richie
Website	JasonAldean.com

Jason Aldine Williams (born February 28, 1977 in Macon, Georgia) is an American country music singer, known professionally as Jason Aldean. Since 2005, Aldean has recorded for Broken Bow Records, an independent record label for which he has released four albums and fifteen singles. His 2005 self-titled debut and 2009 album Wide Open are both certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), while 2007's Relentless is certified gold. Of his singles, seven have reached the number one position on the Hot Country Songs charts: "Why", "She's Country", "Big Green Tractor", "The Truth", "Don't You Wanna Stay" (a duet with Kelly Clarkson), "Dirt Road Anthem", and "Fly Over States." Eight more have reached top ten on the same chart.

Early life[link]

Aldean's parents, Barry and Debbie, divorced when he was three. He was raised by his mother, mainly in Macon, Georgia, where he went to high school at Windsor Academy. During the summer he would spend time with his father in Homestead, Florida.

Before going to work during the day, his dad would map out guitar chords on notebook paper to show Jason where to place his fingers to play the chords. Jason sat and practiced all day while his dad was at work. When his dad got home, he got out his own guitar and they played together. Soon, after hearing a song only a few times, he could play it. His early favorites included George Strait's "The Cowboy Rides Away", Hank Williams Jr.'s "The Blues Man", and Alabama's "My Home's in Alabama". Both parents encouraged young Jason as he progressed musically. From age 14, after watching the country-music awards on TV, he wanted to perform on stage. With his mother's help, he performed at the local VFW hall in Macon, Georgia. He sang John Anderson's song "Seminole Wind" and Tracy Lawrence's "Sticks and Stones". He would later say that the entire audience — all ten — applauded, and that he almost had to be dragged off the stage because he was hooked on performing. He began performing at area talent contests and local fairs. At 15, he joined the "house band" at Georgia nightspot Nashville South.

Personal life[link]

Aldean married his high school sweetheart, Jessica, and they now have two daughters, Keeley and Kendyl. Aldean married Jessica on August 4, 2001.^[3]

Musical career[link]

After high school, with his father's help, Aldean and his band performed in college towns in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia, and then further up the southeastern seaboard. With one of the band's members, Justin Weaver, Aldean began writing songs. In 1998 he performed his original songs at a showcase staged by Atlanta nightclub The Buckboard. He was approached by Michael Knox, then of the Warner-Chappell song-publishing company.^[4] After signing with Warner-Chappell, Aldean moved to Nashville on November 1, 1998, at age 21.

A month after moving to Nashville, Aldean was offered a recording contract but was subsequently dropped. He signed with another label but again was dropped in 2000 for postponing his recording sessions repeatedly. Various showcases failed to bring him a contract. The last straw was an attempt at the Wildhorse Saloon where the promised label talent scouts never even showed up. Finally, Lawrence Mathis spotted Jason at one of the showcases at The Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville. Mathis signed as Aldean's first manager. Still frustrated and discouraged with his struggling career, Aldean gave himself six months before planning to leave Nashville and return home to Georgia. Then five weeks later, he was offered a deal from Broken Bow Records in Nashville. Shortly after the release of his first album, Jason picked up his new (and current) agent, Kevin Neal. And while recording Relentless, Jason moved to Clarence Spalding and Spalding Entertainment for management.

[edit] Jason Aldean (2005-2006)

Aldean's first single, "Hicktown", was released in early 2005.^[4] It served as the lead-off to his album Jason Aldean, and reached a peak of #10 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The album also produced his first Number One hit in "Why", as well as the #4-peaking "Amarillo Sky", which had previously been a non-charting single in 2002 for McBride & the Ride. Amarillo Sky earned a 2006 ACM nomination for song of the year and video of the year. Jason Aldean earned the title of "Top New Male Vocalist" at the 2006 Academy of Country Music Awards. Jason Aldean has sold over one million copies in the United States, and was certified platinum by the RIAA in 2007.

[edit] Relentless (2007-2008)

Aldean spent most of January 2007 in the studio with producer Michael Knox to finish his second album, Relentless.^[4] This album was released on May 29, 2007, and at Wal-Mart, it was released with a Limited Edition CMT Pick DVD that includes performances from Jason Aldean. The album's lead-off single, "Johnny Cash", was originally recorded by Tracy Byrd and peaked at #6 when Aldean released it. Its followup, "Laughed Until We Cried", has become his fifth consecutive Top Ten hit. Relentless has also been certified gold by the RIAA, and its title track was released as its third single. The song has also been Aldean's lowest charting single in both the U.S. and Canada, failing to reach Top Ten on the country charts.

[edit] Wide Open (2009-2010)

Aldean released a seventh single titled "She's Country" to radio on December 1, 2008. It is the first single from his third album Wide Open which was released on April 7, 2009. The single debuted at #51 on the Hot Country Songs chart in late-November 2008. His seventh consecutive Top 40 hit on the country charts, it is also his first Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and became his second number-one hit, and his first since "Why" in May 2006. The next single, the David Lee Murphy-Jim Collins co-write "Big Green Tractor," became Aldean's third Number One hit. Wide Open debuted at #2 on the Top Country Albums chart. "The Truth" became the album's third consecutive Number One hit in January 2010, with "Crazy Town" being the album's fourth single, peaking at #2 on the country charts.

Jason Aldean performed with Bryan Adams on an episode of CMT Crossroads in the beginning of May, and the episode premiered on June 26, 2009.^[5] In an interview with Shave Magazine, Jason explained that working with Bryan on Crossroads "was great. He was a lot of fun." But the real highlight for Jason was working with Randy Owen. "I am a big fan of Alabama so I got a chance to work with Randy Owen on this album (it didn’t make the album but it eventually made a bonus track). It was really cool. Alabama were like ‘The Beatles’ for me so working with him was definitely one of the highlights. I mean, both of those guys were really cool moments, but, if I had to pick one highlight, it would be working with Randy this year."^[6]

A live DVD titled Wide Open Live & More was released on August 25, 2009.

At the 2010 CMT music Awards Jason Aldean picked up 3 nominations in Video of the Year and Male Video of the Year for "The Truth", as well as collaborative video of the year and CMT performance of the year for his performance of "Heaven" with Bryan Adams.^[7]

[edit] My Kinda Party (2010-2012)

Aldean released a new single in August 2010, "My Kinda Party," which entered the Hot Country Songs chart at #41, which is the lead-off single from his album of the same name, released on November 2, 2010.^[8] It marks as Aldean's tenth top 10 country hit. He also collaborated with Kelly Clarkson on the intimate duet "Don't You Wanna Stay". Aldean and Clarkson's performance on November 10, 2010 at the CMA Awards received positive recognition, and debuted at #59 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart from unsolicited airplay for the week of November 20, 2010. In March 2011, "Don't You Wanna Stay" became Aldean's fifth number one hit.

In early 2011, Aldean's recording of "Dirt Road Anthem", recorded previously by both of its writers, country rap artist Colt Ford and Brantley Gilbert (who also wrote "My Kinda Party"), debuted on the Hot Country Songs chart at #57 as an album cut from unsolicited airplay for the week of February 5, 2011.^[9] In March 2011, "Dirt Road Anthem" was selected as the third single from My Kinda Party. Aldean also collaborated with Ludacris on the song "Dirt Road Anthem" at the 2011 CMT Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday, June 8, 2011. In addition to making number one on the Hot Country Songs chart for the week of July 30, 2011, "Dirt Road Anthem" has also become Aldean's first top ten hit on the Hot 100 chart.

Aldean performed his song My Kinda Party at the start of the 2011 Home Run Derby, aired on ESPN.

Aldean won the CMA Country Album of the Year 2011 as well as the Musical Event of the Year with his duet, "Don't You Wanna Stay", with Kelly Clarkson. It was his first win.

On October 25, 2011 it was announced that Aldean will be performing on “The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night”, the one-hour special which takes place live on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at the Nokia Theatre L.A. The show will announce nominations in several categories as well as feature performances by past GRAMMY winners and/or nominees.^[10]

Jason Aldean released his fifth single from his award winning album, titled "Fly Over States" on February 6, 2012.

Tours[link]

• Me & My Gang Tour 2006 with Rascal Flatts & Gary Allan (Eric Church was kicked off for playing too long and Jason took his spot)
• Live Your Voice Tour with Tim McGraw 2008
• CMT ON TOUR:Relentless with Lady Antebellum
• Last Rodeo Tour with Brooks & Dunn 2010
• Wide Open Tour 2010 with Luke Bryan (Fall Leg)
• My Kinda Party Tour 2011 with
  • Spring Leg: Eric Church & The JaneDear Girls
  • Fall Leg: Chris Young & Thompson Square
• My Kinda Party Tour 2012 with Luke Bryan & Lauren Alaina
• First night headline at Stagecoach Country Music Festival 4/27/12.

Awards and nominations[link]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2005: Jason Aldean
• 2007: Relentless
• 2009: Wide Open
• 2010: My Kinda Party

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Jason Aldean at Allmusic