Miranda LambertBy:Tori

Rothman

Early Life

•Born on November 10, 1983, in Longview, Texas.•Only in her twenties, Miranda Lambert has emerged as one of country music's rising stars. •At the age of 10, Lambert entered her first country music talent show. •Lambert began writing her own songs after learning how to play the guitar from her father. She started her own band called Texas Pride at the age of 17 while still in high school. Focused on a career in music, Lambert graduated early from school to pursue her dream.Nashville Star•Her own family supported her efforts, helping to finance and promote her first recording, an independent self-titled CD, in 2001. •Two years later, Lambert got a big break when she passed the auditions for a new country music reality show, Nashville Star. •She moved to the country music capital to compete for a recording contract.• While she didn't win, Lambert still landed a major label contract with Sony Music after becoming the show's second runner-up. "I was hoping not to win," she said in a statement on her website. "The winner had to go in right after the contest and make a record in a couple of weeks, and I wasn't ready."•In 2004, Lambert released the single, "Me and Charlie Talking," It was a modest hit and was soon followed by her first major label album, Kerosene (2005). •After the album's release, Lambert went on tours with George Strait and Keith Urban.Commercial Success•Debuting at the top of the country music charts, Kerosene surprisedlisteners with its fiery lyrics. "I don't write about angels, Jesus, happy days, kids. I grew up on drinkin', cheatin', love gone bad," she once explained. Clearly, her songs struck a chord with the music-buying public - the album sold more than 900,000 copies.Also a hit with critics, Kerosene earned several positive reviews from a variety of sources, from Rolling Stone to the New Yorker magazine. Lambert earned several award nominations from the Academy of Country Music (ACM), including Top New Female Vocalist. The following year, she did win that ACM Award.•In 2007, Lambert had another hit album on her hands. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend started out at the top of the country album charts and reached as high as number six on the Billboard 200 charts.• The title track became a popular hit and anthem of sorts for former girlfriends everywhere. •"Gunpowder & Lead" tells the story of a woman seeking to kill her abusive husband.• On the other side of spectrum, Lambert appears unusually vulnerable on "More Like Her." She also reflects on her love of rural life in "Famous in a Small Town."•Along with being a strong seller, the album has brought Lambert a lot of positive critical attention. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend won an ACM award for Album of the Year, and Lambert earned ACM's Top New Female Vocalist award. Lambert also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her single "Kerosene". At the 2008 ACM Awards, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend won Album of the Year•Later in 2011, Lambert teamed up with Angaleena Pressley and Ashley Monroe. The trio, known as Pistol Annies, released the hit album Hell on Heels that September.

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