Nashville Star is an American reality television singing competition program that aired for six seasons, from 2003 to 2008. Its first five seasons aired on USA Network, while the last season aired on NBC. Its five seasons on USA made it the longest-running competition series on cable television at the time. In Canada, the show aired on CMT through season 5, but moved to E! beginning with season 6. CMT in the United States reaired each episode in season 6.
Brooks & Dunn is an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before the foundation, both members were solo recording artists. Both members charted two solo singles apiece in the 1980s, with Brooks also releasing an album for Capitol Records in 1989 and writing hit singles for other artists.
Joshua Mario Gracin is an American country music singer. A former member of the United States Marine Corps, he first gained public attention as the fourth-place finalist on the second season of the Fox Network talent competition American Idol.
Richard Kalan Porter is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Medicine Hat, Alberta, and the winner of the reality television series Canadian Idol in season 2. He started to sing at an early age and is classically trained, playing several instruments, most notably, the violin and viola. He writes and arranges violin solos for many of his songs. Porter's first single "Awake in a Dream" is the best selling debut single for a Canadian artist to date and has been certified 8x Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. He is also the highest selling solo Canadian Idol singer. In 2013 he was a graduate student in business at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-Australian singer, songwriter and record producer well known for his work in country music. In 1991, he released a self-titled debut album and charted four singles in Australia before moving to the United States the following year. He found work as a session guitarist before starting a band known as The Ranch, which recorded one studio album on Capitol Nashville and charted two singles on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Idol is a Swedish reality-competition talent show which was broadcast on TV4. It first appeared in August 2004, and became one of the most popular shows on Swedish television. Part of the Idols franchise, it originated from the reality program Pop Idol created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller, which was first aired in 2001 in the United Kingdom.
Brett James Cornelius is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer based in Nashville. James' compositions have been credited on 494 recordings by a wide variety of artists. Signed to Career Records as a solo artist in 1995, James charted three singles and released a self-titled debut album that year. He returned to Arista as a recording artist in 2002, releasing two more singles.
American singer and songwriter Carrie Underwood has released six studio albums and 31 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.
Brian Melo is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Hamilton, Ontario who was the winner of the fifth season of Canadian Idol in 2007. His first studio album, Livin' It, achieved Gold Status in Canada. His second album, The Truth, was released October 2010.
"All I Ever Wanted" is the "winner's single" of the fifth season of Canadian Idol.
Jordin Sparks is the self-titled debut album by American pop and R&B singer Jordin Sparks, released on November 20, 2007, in the United States, and November 27, 2007, in Canada. In the United States, it debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 with sales of 119,000 copies in the first week. It has produced four top twenty singles, with "Tattoo" reaching number 8 eight on the US Billboard Hot 100, and "No Air" reaching number three. The album has sold over 3 million copies worldwide, her best-selling album by far. Sparks supported the album with the As I Am Tour and Jesse & Jordin LIVE Tour. The album was certified Platinum for sales in excess of 1,000,000 by the RIAA in the US on December 12, 2008.
Kristy Lee Cook is an American country singer who was the seventh place finalist on the seventh season of American Idol. In 2005, Cook released her first album called Devoted. In June 2008, Cook signed to 19 Recordings and Arista Nashville. She released her post-Idol album, Why Wait, on September 16, 2008. This album has produced her first chart single, "15 Minutes of Shame", a Top 30 hit on the Billboard country charts. Her first single for Broken Bow Records, "Airborne Ranger Infantry", was released on October 16, 2012.
Shawn Randolph Houser is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Universal South Records in 2008, he charted the single "Anything Goes". It was a Top 20 hit on the Billboard country singles chart and the title track to his debut album of the same name, which also produced his first Top 5 hit, "Boots On". In 2012, he moved to Broken Bow Records imprint Stoney Creek. He reached Number One with "How Country Feels", the title track to his third album, and with "Runnin' Outta Moonlight" in 2013. The follow up singles from the same album were "Goodnight Kiss", which reached number one on the Mediabase Country Chart and number two on the Country Airplay chart, and "Like a Cowboy," which reached number 3 on the Country Airplay chart in March 2015 and received a 2015 Country Music Association Awards Song of the Year nomination.
Tug of War is the debut album by Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen who came in third on the fifth season of Canadian Idol. The album is produced by Canadian record producer and songwriter Ryan Stewart. Initially the album was limitedly released in Canada on the independent MapleMusic Recordings label via Fontana North on September 30, 2008. However, it was subsequently given a mainstream release by Canadian label 604 Records, following Jepsen's signing to the label in 2011, including a digital release on the iTunes Store of the United States on June 14. In 2013, the album was released on CD in the United States, through distribution from Alliance Entertainment. In July 2015, the album was released on vinyl in Europe.
Jerrod Lee Niemann is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has released one single for Category 5 Records (2006), three albums for Sea Gayle Music/Arista Nashville: Judge Jerrod & the Hung Jury (2010), Free the Music (2012), and High Noon (2014), and his current single "God Made a Woman" for Curb Records. These albums have produced a combined ten Top 40 entries on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, including the Platinum Number 1 singles "Lover, Lover" and "Drink to That All Night" and Gold Top 5 single "What Do You Want". He has also co-written three singles for Garth Brooks: the chart topping Chris LeDoux tribute "Good Ride Cowboy", as well as "That Girl Is a Cowboy" and "Midnight Sun". Jamey Johnson, Lee Brice, Blake Shelton, Colbie Caillat, Diamond Rio, The Cadillac Three, Mark Chesnutt, John Anderson, Neal McCoy, Christian Kane, and Julie Roberts have also recorded Niemann's songs. Niemann has appeared as a guest artist on The Doobie Brothers Southbound. As a singer and songwriter, Niemann has sold over 20 million albums and downloads.
High Hopes and Heartbreak is the first post-American Idol album, from seventh season American Idol fifth-place finisher, Brooke White. The album was executive produced by Idol judge Randy Jackson.
Whatcha Gonna Do with a Cowboy is an album released by American country music artist Chris LeDoux. It is his 24th album and his second for Liberty Records. "Whatcha Gonna Do with a Cowboy" and "Cadillac Ranch" were released as singles. The first single, a duet with Garth Brooks, became his most successful single, reaching No. 7 on the Hot Country Songs chart in the U.S. and No. 5 in Canada. The second single reached No. 18 and No. 16 in the U.S. and Canada, respectively. The album peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and No. 5 on the Canadian RPM country albums chart. It has been certified Gold by the RIAA.
Rebels on the Run is the seventh studio album by American country music duo Montgomery Gentry. It was released on October 18, 2011 via Average Joes Entertainment. Inside one copy of the album was a golden ticket for a custom-made Demented Cycles motorcycle.
