Miranda Lambert

Miranda Leigh Lambert, born November 10, 1983 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.

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. 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,and eventually gained a Platinum certification by the RIAA for shipments of over one million copies, selling more than 930,000 copies up to July 2008.

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, 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.

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. 

2009-Present: Revolution

In February 2009, Miranda Lambert entered the studio to record her third album, Revolution, which was to be released on September 29, 2009. Lambert co-wrote all but four of the album's 15 tracks; the album also includes co-writes from Blake Shelton, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum. Ahead of the album's release, an EP, titled Dead Flowers, was issued on September 8, 2009. The EP, available exclusively at Best Buy, featured the Revolution album track "Dead Flowers" and three bonus tracks previously included on limited editions of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

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. 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.

Lambert debuted her new single, "Dead Flowers", at the 44th annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 5, 2009. It was released to country radio on May 4, 2009, and was a minor Top 40 hit on the charts.

The album's second single, "White Liar", was released on August 17, 2009, 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.

"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.

On September 1 it was announced Miranda lead 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. That same night she won the CMA Award for Female Vocalist of the Year and Revolution won Album of the Year. 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.

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.

Miranda Lambert is currently working on two albums which is her fifth solo album and her band "Pistol Annies" debut album.

Personal life

In 2006, Lambert began dating fellow country singer Blake Shelton. Lambert sang background vocals on Shelton's 2008 country cover of Michael Bublé's song "Home". 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. The two got married on May 14, 2011 at Don Strange Ranch in Boerne, Texas. 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."

Discography

Awards

Year Organization Award Result

2005 Country Music Association Horizon Award Nominated

2006 CMT Music Awards Female Video of the Year — "Kerosene" 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 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" 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 Won

Single Record of the Year — "Famous in a Small Town" Nominated

Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year Nominated

Single of the Year — "Gunpowder & Lead" Nominated

2009 Academy of Country Music Top Female Vocalist Nominated

Single Record of the Year — "Gunpowder & Lead" Nominated

CMT Music Awards Female Video of the Year — "More Like Her" Nominated

Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year 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" Won

MusicRow Awards Song of the Year - "The House That Built Me" 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 Nominated

Female Artist of the Year Nominated

Album of the Year - Revolution Nominated

Single by a Female Artist - "White Liar" Nominated

Music Video by a Female Artist - "White Liar" 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