Billy Ray Cyrus is an American country singer, songwriter and actor. Having released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, he is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and became the first single ever to achieve triple platinum status in Australia. It was also the best-selling single in the same country in 1992. Due to the song's music video, the line dance rose in popularity.
Aaron Dupree Tippin is an American country music singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially a songwriter for Acuff-Rose Music, he gained a recording contract with RCA Nashville in 1990. His debut single, "You've Got to Stand for Something" became a popular anthem for American soldiers fighting in the Gulf War and helped to establish him as a neotraditionalist country act with songs that catered primarily to the American working class. Under RCA's tenure, he recorded five studio albums and a Greatest Hits package. Tippin switched to Lyric Street Records in 1998, where he recorded four more studio albums, counting a compilation of Christmas music. After leaving Lyric Street in 2006, he founded a personal label known as Nippit Records, on which he issued the compilation album Now & Then. A concept album, In Overdrive, was released in 2009.
Joshua Mario Gracin is an American country music singer. While serving in the United States Marine Corps, he first gained public attention as the fourth-place finalist on the second season of American Idol.
Kenneth Arnold Chesney is an American country singer. He has recorded more than 20 albums that include more than 40 Top 10 singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, 33 of which have reached number one. Many of these also have charted within the Top 40 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, making him one of the most successful crossover country artists. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
Lyric Street Records was the Disney Music Group's country music record label, founded in 1997 by Randy Goodman. The label had its first successes in 1998 with singles by Lari White and Aaron Tippin, both formerly of RCA Records. Other artists who recorded for the label included SHeDAISY and the label's most successful act, Rascal Flatts. A subsidiary label, Carolwood Records, existed between 2008 and 2009. Lyric Street Records was closed in 2010, with most of the former acts moving to other labels or exiting music entirely.
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Underwood's single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the first country artist to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the only solo country artist in the 2000s to have a number-one song on the Hot 100. Her debut album, Some Hearts (2005), was bolstered by the successful crossover singles "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "Before He Cheats", becoming the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history. She won three Grammy Awards for the album, including Best New Artist. The next studio album, Carnival Ride (2007) had one of the biggest opening weeks of all time by a female artist and won two Grammy Awards. Her third studio album, Play On (2009), produced the single "Cowboy Casanova", which had one of the biggest single-week upward movements on the Hot 100.
Jennifer Kathleen Hanson is an American country music artist, songwriter and record producer. She made her artist debut in 2002 with the release of her single “Beautiful Goodbye”. The song went on to become a top 20 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Songs reaching #16 in March 2003, the highest-charting debut single by a female country artist for that year. Her self-titled debut album, Jennifer Hanson, was released that same year on Capitol Records to critical acclaim, and in 2003 Hanson was nominated for the Top New Female Vocalist award from the Academy of Country Music. She received a nomination that same year for CMT Breakthrough Video of the Year for her video “Beautiful Goodbye”, directed by Trey Fanjoy.
SHeDAISY were an American country music vocal group from Magna, Utah. The group consisted of sisters Kristyn, Kelsi and Kassidy Osborn. The group's name was derived from the word shideezhí, a Navajo term meaning "my little sister".
Kellie Dawn Pickler is an American country music singer, actress and television personality. Pickler gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of American Idol and finished in sixth place. In 2006, she signed to 19 Recordings and BNA Records as a recording artist. Her debut album, Small Town Girl, was released later that year and has sold over 900,000 copies. The album, which was certified gold by the RIAA, produced three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts: "Red High Heels" at No. 15, "I Wonder" at No. 14, and "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" at No. 16.
"Before He Cheats" is a song by American singer Carrie Underwood from her debut studio album, Some Hearts (2005). Written by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear, it was released as the fourth single from the album. The song tells the story of a woman taking revenge on her unfaithful partner.
"A Different World" is a debut song recorded by American country music artist Bucky Covington. It was released in January 2007 as the lead single from his album Bucky Covington. It was written by Jennifer Hanson, Tony Martin, and Mark Nesler. The song is produced by Mark Miller of Sawyer Brown, and was released by Lyric Street Records, a country label of Disney's Buena Vista Music Group. It peaked at number 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Bucky Covington is the debut studio album by American country music artist of the same name. It was released on April 17, 2007 by Lyric Street Records. It produced three singles — "A Different World", "It's Good to Be Us", and "I'll Walk" — all of which were top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The song "Empty Handed" was also featured in the video game NASCAR 08. Reviews for the record were positive to mixed, with critics divided over the production, lyrical content and Covington's performance. To promote the album, Covington co-headlined with Jason Michael Carroll on a tour across the United States.
American country music singer Carrie Underwood has released nine studio albums, one greatest hits album, and 29 singles. Underwood rose to fame after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Her debut album, Some Hearts, was released in 2005 and is the fastest-selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history. It also became the best-selling solo female country debut in Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) history, as well as the top-selling debut album of any American Idol contestant in the United States.
Mark Nesler is an American country music artist. Signed to Elektra Records as a recording artist in 1998, Nesler charted three singles on the U.S. Billboard country charts. In addition, he has written several singles for other country music artists, including Tim McGraw's "Just to See You Smile", a song which Billboard ranked as the number one country single of 1998.
David Brent Nail is an American country music artist and the frontman of David Nail & The Well Ravens. In 2002, he debuted the single "Memphis" from an unreleased album for Mercury Records Nashville. Five years later, he signed with MCA Nashville, for which he has released four studio albums: I'm About to Come Alive, The Sound of a Million Dreams, I'm a Fire, and Fighter plus two extended plays, 1979 and Uncovered. The albums have produced seven chart entries on Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay, including two that have reached No. 1: "Let It Rain" and "Whatever She's Got", plus the top 10 hit "Red Light".
"Come on Over" is a song by American recording artist Jessica Simpson from her sixth studio album, Do You Know (2008). The song was penned by country musician Rachel Proctor, Victoria Banks, and Simpson herself, marking her third single she had a writer's credit on following "With You" (2003) and "A Public Affair" (2006). It was released on June 16, 2008 via Columbia Nashville to country radio, becoming Simpson's first single released to the format.
"Gotta Be Somebody" is the first official single released from Canadian rock band Nickelback's sixth studio album, Dark Horse. It reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming their sixth and final top-10 hit.
Love and Theft is an American country music duo consisting of vocalists Eric Gunderson and Stephen Barker Liles. They originally recorded as a trio with vocalist Brian Bandas; after he exited the band, Gunderson and Liles continued as a duo. Signed to Lyric Street Records subsidiary Carolwood Records in 2009, Love and Theft made their chart debut in early 2009 with the single "Runaway," which reached the Top 10 on Billboard Hot Country Songs. The band's debut album, World Wide Open, was released on August 25, 2009.
"I Want My Life Back" is a song written by Frank Myers and Anthony L. Smith, and recorded by American country music artist Bucky Covington. It was released in April 2009 as the fourth single of his career, and the lead-off single from his album I'm Alright, which went unreleased when his label folded. The single was later included as part of Good Guys, Covington's formal second studio album in 2012.
"A Father's Love (The Only Way He Knew How)" is a song written by Liz Hengber, Thom Shepherd and Steve Williams, originally released by Shepherd in 2007 on his album Texas Girls, and was re-recorded by American country music artist Bucky Covington. It was released in March 2010 as his sixth single, and was intended to be included on an album titled I'm Alright, which ultimately went unreleased. It was later released on Covington's second studio album, Good Guys, in 2012.
