Jennifer Nettles - Sugarland Country Western Band - Country Duo
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Jennifer Nettles (born September 12, 1974 in Douglas, Georgia[1])
is an American country music artist. She is known primarily for her role
as lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush. Before Sugarland's
inception, she also fronted Atlanta, Georgia-based bands called Soul Miner's
Daughter and Jennifer Nettles Band. She also charted as a duet partner
on the country version of rock band Bon Jovi's 2006 single "Who Says You
Can't Go Home", a Number One hit on the Billboard charts. Musical beginningsNettles
began performing at school assemblies, her Southern Baptist church, and
in community theater. She was also a member of Georgia 4-H's Clovers &
Company performing arts group from 1986 to 1993. Nettles studied Sociology
and Anthropology at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia and graduated
in 1997. While a student there, Nettles and Cory Jones (who at the time
was studying classical guitar at the University of Georgia) formed the
group Soul Miner’s Daughter. Performing as both an acoustic duo and with
a band, they released two albums: The Sacred and Profane in 1996 and Hallelujah
in 1998, both of which were composed of songs written collaboratively by
Jones and Nettles. In 1999, she formed the Jennifer Nettles Band, with
whom she released three studio albums and two live albums. The band, who
in addition to Nettles included Brad Sikes (drums), Scott Nicholson (piano),
Wesley Lupold (bass), and Mike Cebulski (percussion), was selected the
grand prize winner from more than 2000 bands in "The Big Deal $100,000
Music Search" presented by Mars Music and was invited to perform at Lilith
Fair in 1999. Friends Jay Memory and Bubba Dean, who perform as Memory
Dean, invited Nettles to sing on their 1999 release Still Hungry Souls.
According to Alan Back, writing for The Technique, the Georgia Institute
of Technology's student newspaper, Nettles' vocals "lend a powerful gospel
tone to "Fix My Heart," a standout cut on the album." Sugarland In 2003,
Nettles teamed up with Kristen Hall and Kristian Bush to form Sugarland.
Regarding the trio's collaboration, she said: "We really wanted to get
out of where we had all been as artists and move beyond that to something
bigger. Consequently all the songs reflect that; 'Fly Away,' 'Baby Girl,'
all of those songs - you speak to the human condition and write what you
know in your life." Sugarland was nominated for a Grammy award in the Best
New Artist category in 2006. Although they did not win the award, Nettles
and Bush performed for the awards show and Nettles presented both a Lifetime
Achievement Award to Merle Haggard and the award for Best Country Group.
A duet performance with rock band Bon Jovi, "Who Says You Can't Go Home",
reached No. 7 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on the Billboard
Hot Country Singles chart. The video for the song won a CMT Music Award
in 2006 for Collaborative Video Of The Year. In February 2007, Nettles
and Bon Jovi won a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Collaboration. In 2006,
Kristen Hall left the group and Nettles and Bush continued on as a duo
releasing Enjoy the Ride in November 2006. Their third album, titled Love
on the Inside, was released on July 22, 2008. In an interview on Fox News
with Martha MacCullum, Nettles expressed interest in appearing in a Broadway
play, stating in particular that she would like to play the role of Elphaba
in Wicked. In early December 2008, Sugarland received three Grammy Award
nominations and performed on the 51st Annual Grammy Awards show on February
8, 2009. They won awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Performance
by a Duo or Group. On Sunday, January 18, 2009, Nettles performed at the
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, singing
James Taylor's "Shower the People" with James Taylor and John Legend. On
February 11, 2009, Sugarland received two nominations from the Academy
of Country Music for Top Vocal Duo and Vocal Event of the Year for "Life
in a Northern Town". During the broadcast of the April 5, 2009 awards show,
Sugarland was presented with the Vocal Duo of the Year award, ending Brooks
& Dunn's nine-year run. Nettles also received a Milestone award, presented
to her by Reba McEntire. ABC-TV broadcast the first CMA Country Christmas,
hosted by Nettles, on November 29, 2010. Nettles and Sugarland partner
Kristian Bush kicked off the evening with their rendition of "Winter Wonderland,"
backed by the Southern harmonies of Little Big Town. The pair returned
to the stage later in the program to perform the hymn "Come, O Come Emmanuel,"
just before the "Jingle Bell Rock" group grande finale of the 90-minute
special. Jennifer Nettles grew up in the small town of Douglas, Georgia.
Nettles was married to Todd Van Sickle, before divorcing. Nettles has lent
her time and talent to support various non-profit organizations. In 2007,
one dollar from every ticket sold during Sugarland's CMT Change For Change
tour was donated to the Shalom Foundation. More than $120,000 was raised
in 2007. In 2008 she launched Common Thread, a series of musical events
enabling artists to come together to share music and raise money for their
favorite charities. The first three Common Thread concerts included performances
by Nettles, Sugarland partner Kristian Bush, Emily Saliers, and Amos Lee
and raised funds for the American Cancer Society, American Liver Foundation,
Honor the Earth, and Intercultural Family Services. Following the January
2010 earthquake in Haiti, Nettles and Sugarland partner Bush sang on the
remake of We Are the World as part of Artists for Haiti.
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