Look up tough in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Tough is an adjective and may describe:

• Toughness, the resistance to fracture of a material when stressed
• Machismo, prominently exhibited or excessive masculinity
• Emotional resilience

Tough may also refer to:

People[link]

• Allen Tough (b.1936), Canadian academic
• Dave Tough (1907–48), jazz drummer
• The Krankies, Ian and Janette Tough
• Kathy Tough, (b.1969) Canadian volleyball player
• Kelly Tough (b.1967), Canadian model and actress
• Paul Tough, Canadian writer
• Jim Barry, aka "Tough Barry", (c.1891–1967), Cork hurling coach

Music[link]

• Tough (John Mayall album)
• Tough (Kurtis Blow album)
• Tough (Wishbone Ash album)
• Tough!, 1966 album by Art Blakey
• "Tough" (Craig Morgan song)
• "Tough" (Kellie Pickler song)
• "Tough", 1960 single by The Bill Smith Combo

Other[link]

• Kirkton of Tough, settlement in Aberdeenshire, Scotland
• Tough (manga)
• The Tough, 1957 Egyptian film
• T-ough Press, underground Russian publisher

Single Speed Arizona

See also[link]

• Tuff
• Tough movement, in formal syntax, movement of the object in construction like "the problem is tough to solve"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Kellie Pickler
Background information
Birth name	Kellie Dawn Pickler
Born	(1986-06-28) June 28, 1986 (age 25)
Origin	Albemarle, North Carolina, United States
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2005–present
Labels	BNA / 19 Recordings
Website	Official Kellie Pickler Site

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 19 Recordings and BNA Records as a recording artist, releasing her debut album, Small Town Girl, later that year. To date, it has sold over 800,000 copies. The album, which was certified gold by the RIAA, produced three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts: "Red High Heels" at number fifteen, "I Wonder" at number fourteen, and "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" at number sixteen. She released her self-titled second album in Fall 2008 and has produced the singles "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" at number twenty-one, "Best Days of Your Life" at number nine (which she co-wrote with Taylor Swift and her first Top 10 hit), "Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You" at number fourteen, and "Makin' Me Fall in Love Again" at number thirty. In 2012, she was ranked as the 14th best American Idol alumna.^[1]

Early life[link]

Pickler was born at Stanly Memorial Hospital in Albemarle, North Carolina,, a small town near Charlotte, to Cynthia Morton and Clyde "Bo" Raymond Pickler, Jr. Her mother left when Kellie was 2. Her mother returned and took custody of Kellie for two years.After this the court returned Kellie to her grandparents when she was 12, as her father was in and out of jail during her childhood. From this age to adulthood she was raised by her grandparents.^[2] She cites the major influences in her life as her grandfather, Clyde Raymond Pickler, Sr., a former electrician, and grandmother Faye Pickler.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[3]

[edit] American Idol

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 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.^[4] 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.^[5] She was compared to Jessica Simpson in a March 27 story in US Weekly magazine titled "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.

Performances and results (during voting weeks)[link]

[edit] Post-Idol career

Kellie Pickler and members of her band Ryan Ochsner, left, and Joshua Henson perform for U.S. service members during the first stop of the 2008 USO Holiday Tour on Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, Dec. 16, 2008.

After her elimination, she appeared in numerous shows promoting the TV show and performed the song "Walkin' After Midnight" in some of her appearances.

On May 6, 2006, she returned to Albemarle, North Carolina, for a parade and a reunion with her father. She received a key to the city from the mayor of Albemarle. The mayor also proclaimed the day as "Kellie Pickler Day". Pickler also received numerous awards from local and statewide government officials praising her accomplishments as a contestant on the American Idol television show.^[6]

Pickler pursued her recording aspirations in Nashville, Tennessee, shortly thereafter. On July 17, 2006, she signed a record deal with 19 Recordings/BNA Records. She later announced it herself on The View. She was part of the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2006, performing for three months in various cities. During that period, Pickler worked on her album in collaboration with top industry experts in different cities wherever the tour took her.^[7]

[edit] 2006–2007: Small Town Girl

Her first single, "Red High Heels", debuted on September 13, 2006, and its music video was officially released on October 20, 2006. It received a nomination for the CMT Video Awards for "Breakthrough Video of the Year".^[8][9]

Her debut album, Small Town Girl, released on October 31, 2006, topped Billboard's Top Country Albums and landed at number nine on Billboard Top 200 selling over 79,000 copies in its first week, making Pickler the highest-selling first-week sales for a new artist in 2006. The album includes five songs that Pickler co-wrote with songwriters Chris Lindsey, Aimee Mayo, and Karyn Rochelle.^[10][11][12]

On January 18, 2007, Pickler co-hosted The View and was presented with a gold record by Rosie O'Donnell, certifying that her album has reached the 500,000 sales mark. She also performed her second single "I Wonder", which is a personal song about her absent relationship with her mother, Cynthia Morton. It was the first performance of the song on national TV.^[13][14]

Pickler was nominated for "Top New Female Vocalist" for the 42nd Academy of Country Music Awards.^[15]

She was also part of Brad Paisley's "Bonfires & Amplifiers" concert tour from April 2007 through October as one of the opening acts. The tour was booked in at least 37 cities across North America including a couple of stops in Canada.^[16][17]

Pickler appeared in country music artist Brad Paisley's music video "Online" in 2007.^[18]

On September 2007, Pickler released a version of "Santa Baby" for a Christmas country compilation. A month later, at the ASCAP Awards in Nashville, Pickler received a songwriter award for co-writing her debut single "Red High Heels". She performed her second single, "I Wonder", at the 2007 CMA Awards. During the performance, she was visibly overcome with emotion and struggled to even finish the song before bursting into tears. The performance received a standing ovation. She was also nominated for the Horizon Award. The performance led her to receive 3 CMT awards the following April.

In November 2007, Pickler appeared on a Celebrity Edition of the quiz show Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, playing for the charities of her choice (American Red Cross and the AARP's Grandparenting Program).^[19] Worth a guaranteed $25,000, she was asked, "Budapest is the capital of what European country?". She replied, "This might be a stupid question… I thought Europe was a country." She voiced that it might be a place where people spoke French, and then was repeatedly confused as to whether France really was a country or not. When told the answer was Hungary, she did not believe the host. She said, "Hungry? That's a country? I've heard of Turkey, but Hungry? I've never heard of it."^[20] Thanks to the classmate saving her, she was able to pass the $25,000 mark and went on to win $50,000 before walking away; had she not been saved, she would have left with nothing at all. While on her first USO concert tour in Iraq, Pickler met a few people from Budapest, Hungary, who presented her with a flag of their country.^[21][22]

[edit] 2008–2010: Kellie Pickler

While "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" was climbing the country charts (it eventually reached number sixteen), Pickler returned to the studio to record her second studio album for 19 Recordings/BNA Records. She performed the debut single, "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" at the ACM Awards on May 18, 2008 and received a good response from the audience. She was nominated for "Top New Female Vocalist", but the award went to Taylor Swift.

"Don't You Know You're Beautiful" was released to radio in June 2008 and was a Top 25 hit for Pickler, peaking eventually at number twenty-one. Her second album, Kellie Pickler, was released on September 30, 2008 and debuted at the top of the country chart, as well as number nine on the Billboard 200, selling over 43,000 copies in its first week. It matched the debuting spots of her first album, Small Town Girl.

On November 12, 2008, Pickler performed the second single off her album, "Best Days of Your Life" at the CMA Awards. She was also nominated for "New Artist Of The Year" for the second year in a row, but lost to Lady Antebellum. "Best Days of Your Life" made its radio debut in November 2008, and debuted at number 56. The song climbed very slowly up the chart, but ended up becoming Pickler's first Top 10 hit on the Hot Country Songs chart. After nearly 40 weeks on the chart, the song peaked at number nine in August 2009. A music video was made by Roman White, featuring Taylor Swift, who co-wrote and sang background harmony vocals on the song.

Pickler was nominated for "Female Video Of The Year" at the 2009 CMT Music Awards for "Don't You Know You're Beautiful". She lost once again to Swift. She also presented the award for "USA Weekend Breakthrough Video Of The Year" with Idol judge Randy Jackson.

Pickler accompanied Swift on the first leg of her Fearless Tour 2009. In June, she launched her first ever headline concert tour in promotion of her self-titled album. On October 8, it was announced that Pickler will be part of the second leg of Fearless Tour.^[23]

"Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You", a re-recording from Picklers' first album Small Town Girl, was released as the album's third single on August 30, 2009. The song debuted at number 55 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and became her fifth Top 20 hit, peaking at number fourteen in February 2010.

On October 26, Pickler won the title of Country Weekly's poll of most beautiful woman in country music for the second year in a row. Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood were the second and third places, respectively.^[24]

"Making Me Fall In Love Again" was released as the album's fourth single on April 19, 2010. It debuted at number 53 and peaked at number 30.

[edit] 2011–present: 100 Proof

It was announced that Pickler's third album will be produced by Frank Liddell, known for producing country artist Miranda Lambert's albums.^[25] "Tough" was released on June 13, 2011 as the lead-off single to Pickler's third album, 100 Proof, which was released on January 24, 2012.

Personal life[link]

Pickler's father, whom she describes as an alcoholic and drug addict, served a three-year, nine-month prison sentence at Florida State Prison for aggravated assault and battery stemming from a 2003 stabbing incident.^[26] He was released on May 6, 2006, a week after her elimination from Idol.

Pickler's mother was repeatedly charged with writing bad checks and was convicted in 1988 for passing a forged prescription for Valium at the Albemarle Wal-Mart, where she worked. The day after Pickler's second birthday, her parents split up. A year later, in July 1989, her mother vanished. When her father would get locked up, Pickler would live with her grandparents, outside Albemarle, which is 45 miles northeast of Charlotte. In 1992, her mother returned to Albemarle, but rarely made contact with her daughter Kellie. But in March 1995, with Bo Pickler in prison for armed robbery, her mother was granted custody. Kellie was in the fourth grade. "She got custody of me for two years," Kellie said in a February 2006 interview with The Observer. "During that time, she was physically and mentally abusive of me." In a 1997 court filing, Kellie's grandparents said her mother had moved to Union County with the girl and treated the child harshly. The court restored custody to the grandparents. Her mother vanished again, and Kellie hasn't heard from her since. In an April 2006 interview with NBC Kellie said "One thing that's so important in life is we learn to forgive others. I ask the Lord every day to forgive me for my sins and for things that I've done wrong. And who am I to not forgive someone for what they've done?" said Kellie. "I have forgiven her. I know that I haven't spoken to her in years and I probably wouldn't know her if I saw her. But she's my mother and she's a person. God tells us to love everyone. And I love her. She's my mother."^[27]

On February 26, 2007, she met her personal 'idol' and strongest influence, the country music superstar Dolly Parton. The surprise was arranged by Sony BMG Nashville chairman Joe Galante.^[28]

In 2007, Pickler was in a relationship with Nashville Predators player Jordin Tootoo and visited his family in Nunavut.^[29][30] Later that year, the two broke up.^[31]

Pickler's best friend has been Summer Miller, who Pickler met when they were teen pageant hopefuls.^[32] Pickler is close friends with American Idol fourth season winner Carrie Underwood, country pop singer Taylor Swift, the latter of whom co-wrote Pickler's second single "Best Days of Your Life" from her album Kellie Pickler,^[33] with her American Idol roommate Katharine McPhee, for whom she was a bridesmaid at McPhee's 2008 wedding and also with songwriter Aimee Mayo.^[34]

In June 2008, she joined close friend Carrie Underwood, a long-time vegetarian, in giving up eating meat. Pickler says she first decided to go vegetarian for health reasons, but a TV ad that vegetarian Pamela Anderson did for animal rights group PETA piqued her curiosity. "One night I couldn't sleep and I was up and just Googling random stuff and I'm like, 'Hmmm, PETA.' I saw all the videos and I just thought it was horrible. It's animal cruelty. A lot of it has to do with knowing what happens to the animals and it really bothered me and so I will not eat meat."^[35] In May 2009, it was announced that Pickler was nominated and won the title of "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" by PETA.^[36]

After two and a half years of dating, Pickler became engaged to songwriter Kyle Jacobs on June 15, 2010, the day of her late grandmother's birthday, after he proposed on a beach at sunset.^[37] Pickler and Jacobs eloped on January 1, 2011 in a "small, intimate ceremony on a private island in the Caribbean".^[38]

Philanthropy[link]

Pickler actively supports St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, where she helps raise funds and gives kids special visits. She also participates in charitable events to help raise funds for various organizations. She has performed to help raise funds for the "N.C. Children's PROMISE" to benefit the Children's Hospital on Nov. 12, 2006,^[39] to help refurbish the Hurricane Katrina damaged NFL Youth Education Towns Boys & Girls Club of New Orleans on December 16, 2006,^[39] visited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on January 12, 2007,^[40] and visited Pennington Elementary School on February 1, 2007.^[40] “When you’re able to give back to your communities and organizations like St. Jude, it’s a great thing,” Pickler said. “It’s been a great experience, and I encourage anyone and everyone to help.”^[40]

Pickler was part of a Country and Western artist studded online auction for charity by Mario Magro: Kiss for a Cause Foundation Celebrity Auction held June 15–25, 2007, in support of orphaned and abandoned children. The event auctioned off celebrity lip prints and signatures pressed on the inside of Mario Magro Crystal Le Coop handbags at the 42nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.^[39]

In 2007 she appeared on a charity episode of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" On the episode, she missed a question about the location of Budapest, and in her conversation with Jeff Foxworthy revealed that she thought Europe was a country and was not sure about the status of France.

She has participated in three USO tours. The first, in late 2007 and early 2008, took her to Iraq;^[21][39] the second, in December 2008, included stops in Germany, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, and England.^[41] In January 2010, Pickler made stops in Iraq and Kuwait on a 10-day tour with Randy Houser and Jamey Johnson. The three country stars "played remote bases on the front lines of the war zone, and the sound of gun fire became their frequent companion at night."^[42]

In early August 2009, Pickler participated in ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's rebuilding of James Terpenning's family home in Beavercreek, Ohio. Pickler performed a free concert at the home, and helped during reconstruction.^[43]

Discography[link]

Albums

• 2006: Small Town Girl
• 2008: Kellie Pickler
• 2012: 100 Proof

Awards and nominations[link]

Tours[link]

• Still Feels Good Tour (2007) with Rascal Flatts
• Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour (2007–2008) with Brad Paisley
• Love on the Inside Tour (2008) with Sugarland
• Fearless Tour (2009–2010) with Taylor Swift
• American Living Unstoppable Tour (2010) with Rascal Flatts
• Nothing Like This Tour (2010) with Rascal Flatts

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kellie Pickler

• Official website
• Kellie Pickler at the Internet Movie Database
• Kellie Pickler at American Idol
• Kellie Pickler on Twitter
• Kellie Pickler on Myspace

Justin Travis McBride (born August 7, 1979) is a former professional bull rider on the PBR's Built Ford Tough Series Tour. He is a two-time PBR World Champion (2005 and 2007), has a record 32 career wins, and was the first professional bull rider to earn more than $5 million in the course of his career.^[1]

He is a country music singer and is also one of the color commentators of the Built Ford Tough Series telecasts on CBS Sports Network and NBC Sports Network. He is also the co-host of PBR Now every Thursday night on RFD-TV.

Early and personal life[link]

Justin McBride was born in Texas and later moved to Mullen, Nebraska with his parents and older brother. His father, who worked on a ranch, rode bulls; his maternal grandfather was killed in a bull-riding event the year before McBride was born.^[2] McBride excelled at bareback horse and bull riding, played eight-man football and wrestled. He attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on a rodeo scholarship; he left after a year to go pro at 19.^[2]

McBride currently lives in Elk City, Oklahoma with his wife, Jill, and two children.

Career[link]

McBride recalls his debut in the PBR's rookie league, the Challenger Tour, as 'rough'.^[2] When he qualified for the main PBR tour in 1999, he finishied fourth in his first-ever Built Ford Tough Series (then known as the Bud Light Cup) event (which was held in Bakersfield, California). He claimed his first win in his next event, which was in Odessa, Texas. Coupled with two third-place finishes, he qualified for his first PBR World Finals and finished fourteenth in the world in his rookie year of 1999, with $89,007 in earnings.

In 2000, McBride had several top finishes, but no wins. His big success of that year came when he won the Mossy Oak shootout twice - once in Greensboro, North Carolina for $15,000, and again in Houston, Texas for $30,000. He finished ninth in the world in 2000, with $144,764 in earnings, and was named the Mossy Oak Shootout Champion that year.

In 2001, McBride stepped up his game and won 5 events that year, putting himself into a three-man race for the PBR World Championship title against Adriano Moraes and Ty Murray. Unfortunately for McBride, he faltered at the finals (as did Murray) and the Brazilian, Moraes, ended up winning his second world title that year. McBride finished third in the world that year, winning $302,217 for his efferts.

In 2002, McBride did not get to match the success he had in 2001, but he still won the Bud Light Cup event in Nashville, Tennessee and finished fifth in the world overall that year. He made $181,546 that year.

2003 saw a whole new Justin McBride. He put himself into a tight two-man race between himself and Chris Shivers for the world title that year, winning two Built Ford Tough Series events in the process (Anaheim, California and St. Louis, Missouri). McBride was in the lead for the world title going into the Grand Rapids, Michigan Built Ford Tough series, but unfortunately, disaster struck. He was stepped on by a bull named Mission Pack in the short-go of that event, breaking two ribs and puncturing a lung.^[2] Many thought McBride would not make it to the finals, but he did go. He won the first go-round and very nearly took the title away from Shivers, but when McBride bucked off of Mossy Oak Mudslinger in the short-go of the finals, Shivers was awarded the PBR World title and the first ever million-dollar bonus that was awarded to a world champion. McBride finished 2nd overall in 2003 with $281,606 in earnings.

In 2004, McBride picked up where he left off and won 4 events that year. His main rivals for the world title that year were Adriano Moraes and Mike Lee. He stayed in 2nd place for most of the year, but due to a new points system implemented for the Finals that year, it would be possible for him to catch the leader (who at that point was Adriano, who had a 1,800-point lead heading into the finals). However, for the second year in a row, disaster struck again for McBride in Grand Rapids. This time, in that event's Mossy Oak Shootout, the bull named Lefty stepped on his right ankle as he was bucked off, breaking it. McBride would need surgery and again, people thought he would not make it to the finals. He did, three weeks later,^[2] and turned in some heroic performances early on. Unfortunately, he bucked off his last few bulls and ended up 4th in the world overall that year. He made $303,928 in 2004. Lee would go on to win the PBR world championship that year.

In 2005, McBride would not be denied. He tied a PBR record that year by winning 6 Built Ford Tough series events. In the middle of the year he found himself in a heated race for the PBR World Title with Brazilian rider Guilherme Marchi. The two battled it out at the PBR World Finals, and the short-go actually came down to Marchi and McBride. The pressure was on McBride after Marchi successfully made the whistle on the bull Kid Rock. McBride answered by hanging for dear life to the bull Camo, off the side for much of the ride, but nevertheless rode the bull successfully. McBride had overcome adversity and finally won his first-ever PBR World Title in 2005, with over $1.5 million in earnings for the year, a PBR record.^[2] His final ride was on a bull named Camo (oddly, McBride would win the title in 2007 on that same bull), and the ride was notable for the fact that McBride spent most of the needed eight seconds literally hanging off the side of the bull.

With the monkey off his back (so to speak), McBride decided he'd have fun in 2006. He maintained a consistent riding average and had several top finishes. In the middle of the year he took time off to spend with his wife, Jill, who gave birth to their new daughter, Addisen Claire McBride. McBride took six events off, but when he came back, he was still in the mix for a world title. He won 3 BFTS events upon his return (and in 2 events rode 2 previously-unridden bulls in the short-go rounds), but the Finals did not go as well as he had hoped. He still earned $232,757 that year and finished 6th overall.

In 2007, McBride chased a second world title. He won a record 8 events on the BFTS that year, and battled it out with 2nd-year pro J.B. Mauney for the world title. At the BFTS event in Chihuahua, Mexico, McBride hung up to the bull named Gnash and suffered a serious left shoulder injury that was first meant to put him out for the year, but he then came back two events later in Greensboro, North Carolina, to win his eighth event of the year, which is the new PBR record for most events won in a single season. He was also named the Alphatrade National Champion of 2007 and chose to ride the bull, Scene of the Crash, for 200,000 dollars, making it the richest ride in PBR history. He finished this season by winning his second PBR title in three years. As in 2005, he did it riding a bull named Camo in the final round; unlike in 2005, McBride stayed on top of the bull without hanging on the side. His total season earnings in 2007 was $1,836,002. Due to the shoulder injury, though, McBride elected to have surgery after the Finals, and was out of competition for about 6 months after the surgery.

McBride came back to the Built Ford Tough Series at the 2008 Dickies American Worker of the Year Invitational in Dallas, Texas, and, finishing 7th overall at the event, seemed to pick up where he left off. He showed the world he was back for sure when he won the very next event, which was the Express Classic in Tulsa, Oklahoma, pocketing over $30,000 in that one weekend. He later went on to win the Jack Daniels Invitational in Nashville, Tennessee, and in doing so, secured himself yet another qualification for the PBR World Finals. A few events later, McBride achieved another milestone, breaking the $5 million mark in PBR career earnings, the first rider to ever do so. However, shortly before the finals, having qualified 15th in the standings, McBride announced that he would retire at the end of the season to concentrate on his second career in country music, saying, "I don't wanna do it anymore."^[1] He put on a show at the 2008 PBR Finals, riding 5 out of 8 bulls (including two go-round wins) to finish 6th overall at the event. His final ride saw him bucked off Voodoo Child, the bull that he rode in Tulsa for the event win earlier in the year, ending his final season ranked 21st in the world with $221,090 in earnings. McBride acknowledged the crowd and walked away happy that he would not have to ride again.

Event wins[link]

1999[link]

• Top Guns Bull Riding Champion (Odessa, Texas)

2001[link]

• Ty Murray Invitational Champion (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
• Colorado Open Co-Champion (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
• Grand Rapids Open Champion (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
• Justin Bull Riding Champion (Houston, Texas)
• Baltimore Open Champion (Baltimore, Maryland)

2002[link]

• Bullnanza Nashville Champion (Nashville, Tennessee)

2003[link]

• Anaheim Open Champion (Anaheim, California)
• St. Louis Open Champion (St. Louis, Missouri)

2004[link]

• Phoenix Invitational Champion (Phoenix, Arizona)
• Jerome Davis Challenge Co-Champion (Greensboro, North Carolina)
• Indianapolis Invitational Champion (Indianapolis, Indiana)
• Tacoma Classic Champion (Tacoma, Washington)

2005[link]

• Worcester Open Co-Champion (Worcester, Massachusetts)
• Jacksonville Open Co-Champion (Jacksonville, Florida)
• St. Louis Open Champion (St. Louis, Missouri)
• Heart of the West Ford Stores Invitational Champion (Reno, Nevada)
• Ty Murray Invitational Co-Champion (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
• NILE Invitational Champion (Billings, Montana)

2006[link]

• Fritos Invitational Champion (Dallas, Texas)
• U.S. Army Invitational Champion (Reading, Pennsylvania)
• Rocky Boots Invitational Champion (Columbus, Ohio)

2007[link]

• Sacramento Classic Champion (Sacramento, California)
• Southern Ford Dealers Invitational Champion (Tampa, Florida)
• New Orleans Classic Champion (New Orleans, Louisiana)
• Cabela's Classic Champion (Kansas City, Missouri)
• Cabela's Shootout Champion (Omaha, Nebraska)
• Built Ford Tough Invitational Champion (Auburn Hills, Michigan)
• Dickies Invitational Champion (Dallas, Texas)
• U.S. Army Invitational Champion (Greensboro, North Carolina)

2008[link]

• Express Classic Champion (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
• Jack Daniels Invitational Champion (Nashville, Tennessee)

Music career[link]

In 2007, McBride started a career as a country music singer. Just a week before the 2007 PBR Finals, he released his debut album, Don't Let Go.

On August 14, 2009, he performed at the Grand Ole Opry.^[3]

On October 19, 2010,^[4] McBride released his first live CD/DVD, Live at Billy Bob's Texas, which includes the single "Tonight Ain't the Day".

Discography[link]

Don't Let Go (2007)

• Track Listing:

1. Don't Let Go
2. Tumbleweed Town
3. Beer Drinkin' Song
4. Bigger Fish to Fry
5. That Was Us
6. Went For a Ride
7. Cowboy 'Til I Die
8. It Takes a Lot
9. God's In Oklahoma Today
10. Good Saddles Ain't Cheap
11. Tough
12. Love Me If You Can

Live at Billy Bob's Texas (live CD/DVD; October 19, 2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Official Website
• Career stats at PBRNow.com

Trace Adkins
At sea aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), Nov. 27, 2002
Background information
Birth name	Tracy Darrell Adkins
Born	(1962-01-13) January 13, 1962 (age 50)
Origin	Springhill, Louisiana, USA
Genres	Country, country rock, blues rock
Instruments	Vocals Guitar[1]
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Capitol Nashville, Show Dog-Universal Music
Associated acts	Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson, 38 Special, Ronnie Milsap, Toby Keith, Blake Shelton
Website	TraceAdkins.com

Tracy Darrell "Trace" Adkins (born January 13, 1962) is an American country music artist and actor. He made his debut in 1996 with the album Dreamin' Out Loud, released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since then, Adkins has released seven more studio albums and two Greatest Hits compilations. In addition, he has charted more than 20 singles on the Billboard country music charts, including the Number One hits "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing", "Ladies Love Country Boys", and "You're Gonna Miss This", which peaked in 1997, 2007, and 2008, respectively. "I Left Something Turned on at Home" went to #1 on Canada's country chart. All but one of his studio albums have received gold or platinum certification in the United States; his highest-selling to date is 2005's Songs About Me, which has been certified 2× Multi-Platinum for shipping two million copies.

He has also made several appearances on television, including as a panelist on the game shows Hollywood Squares and Pyramid, as a finalist on The Celebrity Apprentice, as the voice for recurring character Elvin on King of the Hill, and in television commercial voice-overs for the KFC fast food restaurant chain. In addition, Adkins has written an autobiography entitled A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Free-Thinking Roughneck, which was released in late 2007. He has appeared in numerous films, including The Lincoln Lawyer.

Early life[link]

Sarepta, Louisiana, honors its home-town celebrity, Trace Adkins

Adkins was born in Sarepta in Webster Parish in north Louisiana. His parents are Aaron Adkins, a mill worker, and the former Peggy Carraway. His uncle was the Christian musician James W. Carraway (1923–2008). Trace Adkins is of English and Irish descent.^[2][3] His musical interest came at an early age, when his father taught him to play the guitar.^[1] In high school, he joined a gospel music group called the New Commitments. He was also a member of Future Farmers of America. Later, Adkins went on to study at Louisiana Tech University, where he also played defensive end for the Bulldogs football team. Though he never officially graduated he took up work at an oil rig. He lost the pinky finger on his left hand in an accident while using a knife to open a bucket, and asked doctors to reattach the finger at an angle so that he could continue to play guitar.^[1] Adkins then moved on to playing in honky tonk bars around Nashville, Tennessee, in the early 1990s. An executive of Capitol Records spotted Adkins playing at a honky tonk, and soon afterwards signed him to the label. Adkins is married to Rhonda Forlaw, his third wife and mother of their three daughters; Adkins has two daughters from his first marriage.^[4]

Music career[link]

Early career[link]

Adkins' first single, "There's a Girl in Texas", was released in 1996, reaching the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It was followed by the release of his debut album, Dreamin' Out Loud, later that year. The album produced several hit singles, including his first Top 5 single, "Every Light in the House", his first Number One in "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing", and another Top 5 hit in "I Left Something Turned on at Home". The latter single was also a Number One hit in Canada. His second album, Big Time, produced a Top 5 in "The Rest of Mine", but subsequent singles proved less successful.^[1] A change in management delayed the release of Adkins' third album,^[5] but the album (titled More...) was eventually released in late 1999. Although the album's title track reached Top 10, More... failed to achieve gold status.

2001–2004[link]

In 2001, Adkins was injured in a tractor accident and had to temporarily cancel touring.^[6] He later entered a 28-day alcohol rehabilitation program in Nashville,^[7] shortly after the release of his Chrome album. Chrome was the first album by Adkins to reach the Top 5 on the country albums charts; its title track reached Top 10 in late 2002.^[1]

In 2003, Adkins released two albums: a Greatest Hits collection and Comin' on Strong.^[1] The same year, he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry.^[8] He also made appearances as the center square on the game show Hollywood Squares,^[9] and did voice-overs in commercials for fast-food chain KFC.^[10] Only one single, "Then They Do", was released from the Greatest Hits compilation. Comin' on Strong, which succeeded the Greatest Hits album, produced two singles: the Top 5 single "Hot Mama", and "Rough & Ready", which peaked at #13.

Adkins and Travis Tritt played the roles of prison convicts in a February 2004 episode of the television series Yes, Dear (Greg & Jimmy's Criminals).

2005–2007[link]

In 2005, Adkins released his Songs About Me album.^[1] The album's second single, "Arlington", generated controversy over its content (a first-person account of a fictional soldier who was about to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery).^[11] It was followed by "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk", which became a highly successful crossover hit, bringing Adkins into the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time.

2006 saw the release of Adkins' seventh studio album, Dangerous Man. "Swing", the album's lead-off single, peaked at #20, while the follow-up "Ladies Love Country Boys" became Adkins' first Number One single on the country charts since "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing" in 1997. The album's final release, "I Wanna Feel Something", proved unsuccessful on the charts; as a result, Adkins announced that he would stop supporting the single.

In August 2007, Adkins released a single entitled "I Got My Game On".^[12] Originally, the song was planned to be the lead-off to a new album, tentatively titled Game On; however, Adkins decided not to release a full album, and instead released his second Greatest Hits compilation, American Man: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, for which "I Got My Game On" served as the lead-off single.^[13] The album has also produced Adkins' fastest-climbing single to date in its second single, "You're Gonna Miss This".^[14]

"You're Gonna Miss This" has also become his third Number One hit on the Hot Country Songs, as well as the most successful single to date on the Billboard Hot 100 (#12), Billboard Pop 100 (#19), and Hot Digital Songs charts (#8).

Trace released his first book, entitled A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions from a Free-Thinking Roughneck.^[15]

2008–present[link]

Trace Adkins at Toadlick 2012

In November 2008, Trace Adkins made an appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Trace rode with his family on the "Jimmy Dean" float and performed his popular song "You're Gonna Miss This." In 2009, Adkins appeared in local Kansas City commercials to advertise season tickets and the 50th season of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs.

Adkins recorded a duet with country legend Ronnie Milsap called "My First Ride" to benefit fire-fighters and police officers in the US and Canada. Then, after the song's release the label said 'no' to radio stations playing it with no explanation given. Milsap led a protest at Capitol Records to "Free Trace" and allow the song to be played.

In November 2009, Adkins embarked on the Shine All Night Tour, a co-headling venture with fellow country artist Martina McBride. Also in 2009, Adkins joined fellow country artist Blake Shelton in recording a duet titled "Hillbilly Bone," which was released as the lead-off single from Shelton's upcoming sixth album.

On October 18, 2009, Trace made an appearance on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to help Ty Pennington and his design team build a new home for the Marshall family.

Two men in a small pickup truck lost their lives after crashing into one of Trace Adkins' tour buses. The truck was believed to have crossed the "no passing" line in the center of the road which resulted in the crash. Several members of Adkins' band were aboard the bus, but did not suffer any major injuries. Adkins himself was not on board the bus at the time.^[16]

In January 2010, Adkins parted ways with his long-time record label, Capitol Nashville, and subsequently signed with Show Dog-Universal Music.^[17][18] Adkins' first single with the label, "This Ain't No Love Song," was released on May 17, 2010, and served as the lead-off single to his ninth studio album, Cowboy's Back In Town. It debuted at #54 on the chart for the week of May 29, 2010. The album's second single "Brown Chicken, Brown Cow" released to country radio on January 10, 2011.

On October 10, 2010, Adkins sang the National Anthem at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.^{[citation needed]}

On December 18, 2010, Trace performed at WWE's annual extravaganza 'Tribute To The Troops' to amazing reception by the soldiers in attendance.^[19] Trace appeared once again on the May 13, 2011, episode of SmackDown live from Nashville, Tennessee, as the special member of the WWE audience.

On June 4, 2011, Adkins' home in Brentwood, Tennessee burned down.^{[citation needed]}

On October 20, 2011, Adkins sang the National Anthem at game 2 of the 2011 World Series in St. Louis, MO.

In February 2012, Adkins will appear as a guest vocalist on Meat Loaf's album Hell in a Handbasket ^[20]

Other ventures[link]

Acting[link]

• 2003-2007 - King of the Hill 5 episodes (Role:Elvin Mackleston, Big John; voice)
• 2004 - Yes, Dear Episode: Greg and Jimmy's Criminals (Role:Curtis)
• 2005 - Higglytown Heroes Episode: Higgly Hoedown/Eubie's Turbo Sled (Role:Cowboy Hero; voice)
• 2008 - Trailer Park of Terror (Role:The Man)
• 2008 - An American Carol (Role:Angel of Death/Trace Adkins)
• 2010 - Tough Trade (Role:Scared)
• 2010 - Lifted (Role:Jimmy Knox)
• 2011 - The Lincoln Lawyer (Role:Eddie Vogel)
• 2012 - American Dad! Episode: The Unbrave One (Role:Transvestite; voice)^[21]
• 2012 - Wyatt Earp's Revenge (Role:Milfin Kennedy)

Celebrity Apprentice[link]

Adkins was a January–March 2008 contestant on NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice.^[13] Each celebrity contestant was playing for charitable donations for their selected charity. Adkins was playing for the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. Adkins chose the charity because his daughter suffers from life-threatening reactions to peanuts, milk and eggs.

In 2008, Trace Adkins released the single "Muddy Water," the lead single from X, which was released on November 25. The video for "Muddy Water" also has an appearance by fellow Celebrity Apprentice competitor Stephen Baldwin as a man being baptised in a muddy river, and later approaching Trace as a friend. X also includes the Top 20 hits "Marry for Money" and "All I Ask For Anymore," both of which reached a peak of #14.

Spokesperson[link]

In 2012, Adkins signed a deal with truck stop chain Pilot Flying J to become the company's new spokesperson.^[22]

Personal life[link]

On July 5, 2001, Adkins was charged with driving under the influence in Nolensville, Tennessee.^[23] The singer pled guilty and was sentenced to 11 months in jail; however, the sentence was suspended after 48 hours.^[1] In addition, he had to pay $350 in fines, and his driver's license was suspended for one year.^[24]

Injuries[link]

As a youth, Trace was in an automobile accident in which his 1955 pickup truck hit a bus head-on. Both his arms, a leg, and some ribs were broken and his nose was partially torn off. Trace was forced to give up football after a severe knee injury at Louisiana Tech. He has also experienced a number of serious injuries as an adult, including being shot by his ex-wife in 1994.^[25] The bullet went through his heart and both lungs. He survived and chose not to press charges. The little finger on his left hand was partially severed and surgically re-attached.

Discography[link]

Albums

• 1996: Dreamin' Out Loud
• 1997: Big Time
• 1999: More...
• 2001: Chrome
• 2003: Greatest Hits Collection, Vol. 1
• 2003: Comin' On Strong
• 2005: Songs About Me
• 2006: Dangerous Man
• 2007: American Man: Greatest Hits Volume II
• 2008: X
• 2010: Cowboy's Back in Town
• 2010: The Definitive Greatest Hits: 'Til the Last Shot's Fired
• 2011: Proud to Be Here

Awards[link]

This list of songs or music-related items is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Trace Adkins

• Official website

Catgeory:American voice actors