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Kellie Pickler
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Posted by Jen1180 Mon Jul 28, 2008 17:51:07 MDT
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BREAKOUT:
Sonic Drive-in and Blackers present Kellie Pickler in concert
Where: The Idaho Falls Civic Auditorium.
When: Tuesday, July 29. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. show begins at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: Can be purchased at CD World in Idaho Falls, Budget Tapes and Records in Idaho Falls or online at www.eastidahoconcerts.com. Tickets are $28 for balcony and $33 for floor seating.

By Jenny Wixom
jwixom@journalnet.com
    IDAHO FALLS — If you watched any of the fifth season of “American Idol,” you should know who Kellie Pickler is. The blonde-haired county singer finished sixth on the hit TV show in 2006.
    With a hit album behind her and another one in the works, the three time Country Music Award winner has embarked on a national tour and will be making a stop in Idaho Falls on July 29. I was able to do a phone interview with her Pickler last week and this is what she had to say:

ISJ: When you finished sixth did you think you would ever get a record contract or did you think ‘this is it?’”
Pickler: I’ve been very blessed, everything has happened very quickly and at a good pace and so I can’t complain.

ISJ: Do you have a natural talent or did you go through any training to be a singer?
Pickler: No, I have never had any professional training at all. I kind of grew up singing in the shower, I guess.

ISJ: Have you been singing since you were a little girl?
Pickler: Ya.

ISJ: You inspired you? What kind of singers did you grow up listening to?
Pickler: Dolly Parton is probably my favorite, I’m a big Dolly fan, I just love her work and I admire her song writing. She’s who I would love to follow in the footsteps of, for sure.

ISJ: You got to meet her, didn’t you?
Pickler: Ya, I met her a little over a year ago and she’s great, really sweet.

ISJ: Was that a life long dream of yours?
Pickler: Ya, for sure, oh my goodness, ya! She’s amazing, so sweet.

ISJ: So, a lot of people have compared you to Jessica Simpson. How do you feel about that?
Pickler: Really? I guess, we’re both blonde and . . . I don’t know I think we’re totally different!

ISJ: I guess it’s just the blonde southern girl thing.
Pickler: I guess so, I don’t know. I’m from North Carolina, she’s from Texas. I don’t know that’s kind of weird!

ISJ: Ya, you read all sorts of weird things.
Pickler: Ya, I’m Kellie Pickler, I am not her. That’s funny. I get compared to everybody. Usually it’s always “Idol” stuff though, ya know? Carrie (Underwood) and I are both blonde and we both do country music, so we get a lot of comparisons, and we were both on “Idol.” That’s the first I’ve seen Jessica though!

ISJ: Really?
Pickler: Ya, but I don’t read all that stuff. You can read a hundred great things about yourself but if you read one bad thing that will be the only thing you think about. I just don’t even put myself there anymore.   

ISJ: You became famous very quickly. Has it been hard to adjust?
Pickler: Ya, it was kind of weird . . . it’s not me that changed, it doesn’t feel like I have changed it felt like everyone around me changed. People who I might have known all my life started looking at me differently. The hardest thing is trying to figure out  who you want in and who you have to let out of your life. You never know what people’s intentions are and you’ve got to be very careful.

ISJ: Have you had all sorts of people claiming to be related to you?
Pickler: Ya! It’s so funny. When I was on American Idol there was this guy that lived in California that every week he would call into a station there and he would talk about me on the air. They were like, ‘if anyone knows her or is related to her call us we want to talk about her.’ This is when I was on the show, so you know, everyone wants to know about all the contestants. This man, for weeks he was calling in, talking about my personal life and just things that I was like, ‘how the heck did he know that?’ And he claimed to my Uncle Pickler, and my dad’s an only son. I don’t have an uncle. My dad has two sisters. It’s just weird that people even take the time to do that, it’s really creepy.

ISJ: Wow, that is creepy. Did you figure out who he was?
Pickler: No, we just called the station after we found out about it and told them that it was not legit. They were so sorry. Ya, you gotta be really careful. People that were so mean to me in school will come out and try to do interviews and say that we were best friends. It’s just weird. I don’t worry about it.

ISJ: So you were basically raised by your grandparents?
Pickler: Ya, I  lived kind of off and on with my grandma and my dad when he was not incarcerated.

ISJ: Do you still have any contact with your parents at all?
Pickler: No.

ISJ: You do a lot of charity work?
Pickler: Ya, one of my favorite charities I’ve been working with a lot lately is the AARP and it’s the Foundation for grandparents that are raising their grandkids. It’s really cool, because I relate, you know? My grandparents raised me and I kind of know about the struggles and the different difficulties that they have to go through, financially and all of that. It’s really cool to be able to help a charity that I really connect with.

ISJ: Have you released you second album yet? The last I heard it was still in the works.
Pickler: Ya, it’s still in the works.

ISJ: Where do you see yourself in the future? Where do you want to go from here?
Pickler: Up! I just want to keep going up, I don’t ever want to reach the top because then I guess you just tumble down! I just want to keep doing what I’m doing and I’ve love to cross over to film in the future. I kind of want to do it all.

ISJ: Do you have anything else you want to add?
Pickler: I’m really looking forward to the show and I can’t wait, I’m excited.

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