American Idol's Kellie Pickler Debuts at the Top of Billboard's Country Albums Chart

The Number 1 Country album position in the United States this week (the week ending 10/18/2008) is being held down by an "American Idol" alumnus. Just one week out, Kellie Pickler's eponymous album, her sophomore effort, sits atop Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. It debuted at the same time at Number 9 on the Top 200 Albums charts, equalling the debut position of her first album, Small Town Girl.

Kellie Pickler is the little girl from North Carolina who won America's heart on Season 5 of "American Idol" with her heavy twang-inflected accent and her ignorance of calamari. It didn't hurt that she was cute as a button and could sing her heart out. She finished sixth in the competition that year. Season 5 was the season that produced such notables as Chris Daughtry, Katharine McPhee, Elliot Yamin, Bucky Covington, and Mandisa. Taylor Hicks won the 2006 competition.

Pickler's first album, Small Town Girl, came out on October 31, 2006, and she didn't waste any time lighting up the country charts, scoring three Top Twenty songs. Her first single, "Red High Heels," won an ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) award for Songwriter, which goes to the song that is performed most often in a year. She would go on to pick up three 2008 CMT (Country Music Television) Awards for her second single, "I Wonder." The album would peak at Number 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, the second album by an "American Idol" alumnus to do so (Carrie Underwood had previously made it to the top position).

Small Town Girl has been certified gold (500,000 units sold) by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and is nearing platinum status (1 million units sold).

Kellie Pickler is one of four artists from "American Idol" to become successful in country music: Josh Gracin from Season 2, Carrie Underwood from Season 4, and Bucky Covington from Season 5. Covington finished two places behind Pickler.

Three of the four currently hold positions on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Carrie Underwood is at No. 4 with "Just A Dream." Bucky Covington is enjoying the No. 17 spot with "I'll Walk." And the first single from Kellie Pickler, "Don't You Know Your Beautiful," has moved up to No. 25.

Pickler has returned to the show that made her famous several times, prompting "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest to keep up a running gag about new things that she has discovered (kidding her about the now famous calamari incident) and to call attention to her increased breast size. Thus far, she has avoided his insinuations and direct questioning from the press.

The diminutive and ebullient Pickler also appeared on an episode of "Are You Smarter Than A 5^th Grader," where her constant chatter kept host Jeff Foxworthy entertained. She rebutted critics who took exception to her air-headed answers by telling the Arizona Republic that "no one even recognized that I won $50,000 for my charity."

Pickler is also in this week's People magazine. The 22-year-old country star talks about her battle with depression in 2007. "Everything in my professional life seemed great," she told the magazine. "But in my personal life, I was just crumbling." While her singles were charting, she and her boyfriend broke up, her father went to prison (he is a recidivist), and the mother that abandoned her when she was 2 years old reappeared in her life. She said the medication doctors put her on - anti-depressants - made her "crazy," and the side effects forced her to stop taking the prescribed pills.

But she told the magazine that she's doing much better now. She has a new love interest, Kyle Jacobs, a Nashville songwriter. She also has the support of her friends, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift. Pickler says she wants to get married and have a family one day, that she would like to adopt, but she had to get her priorities in order first.

While she's prioritizing, she'll be battling her friends and "American Idol" alumni on the charts. Jennifer Hudson, the Oscar-winning singer that finished 7^th in Season 3 also debuted this week on the Top 200 Albums chart with her self-titled first album. Carrie Underwood is at No. 64 with "Carnival Ride" and Daughtry is at No. 82 with "Daughtry."

In the meantime, she will be busy promoting her new album. She will sing at the Grand Ole Opry on October 14. And she announced on her MySpace blog the other day that she would be co-hosting this year's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" with Ryan Seacrest. Said Pickler, "I'm so excited I can barely type." She had kept the news secret for a month, she said.

Kellie Pickler is also nominated for Best New Artist at this year's CMA (Country Music Association) Awards. The CMA's will be broadcast live on CBS on November 12.

Sources:

Billboard.com
AZCentral.com
Wikipedia.org
KelliePickler.com
People.com