Jennifer Nettles
Encyclopedia
Jennifer Nettles is an American country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 artist. She is known primarily for her role as lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush
Kristian Bush
Kristian Merrill Bush is an American folk rock and country musician. From 1990 to 2001, Kristian was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim along with Andrew Hyra...

. Before Sugarland's inception, she also fronted Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

-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
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...

's 2006 single "Who Says You Can't Go Home
Who Says You Can't Go Home
"Who Says You Can't Go Home" is a song written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora for the American rock band Bon Jovi's ninth studio album Have a Nice Day . The song was produced by John Shanks, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. It was released as the second single in North America in the first...

", a Number One hit on the Billboard charts.

Musical beginnings

Nettles began performing at school assemblies, her Southern Baptist church, and in community theater. She was also a member of Georgia 4-H
Georgia 4-H
Georgia 4-H was founded in 1904 by G.C. Adams in Newton County, Georgia, USA, as the Girls Canning, and Boys Corn Clubs.The Georgia 4-H Program is a branch of Georgia Cooperative Extension, which is part of the University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, and is funded...

's Clovers & Company performing arts group from 1986 to 1993.

Nettles studied Sociology and Anthropology at Agnes Scott College
Agnes Scott College
Agnes Scott College is a private undergraduate college in the United States. Agnes Scott's campus lies in downtown Decatur, Georgia, nestled inside the perimeter of the bustling metro-Atlanta area....

 in Decatur, Georgia and graduated in 1997. While a student there, Nettles and Cory Jones (who at the time was studying classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...

 at the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

) 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
Mars Music
Mars Music, Inc. is a now defunct chain of music stores headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The company was founded in 1996 by guitarist and former Office Depot president Mark Begelman, who created the superstore store chain after experiencing dissatisfaction with his own music store...

 and was invited to perform at Lilith Fair
Lilith Fair
Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 to 1999, and was revived in the summer of 2010. It...

 in 1999.

Friends Jay Memory and Bubba Dean, who perform as Memory Dean, invited Nettles to sing on their 1999 release Still Hungry Souls.

Sugarland

In 2003, Nettles teamed up with Kristen Hall
Kristen Hall
Kristen Alyson Hall is an American folk rock singer/songwriter. In 2002, she was a founding member of the country music group Sugarland. She left the group in December 2005.-Lawsuit:...

 and Kristian Bush
Kristian Bush
Kristian Merrill Bush is an American folk rock and country musician. From 1990 to 2001, Kristian was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim along with Andrew Hyra...

 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
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 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
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...

 and the award for Best Country Group
Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded from 1970 to 2011. The award has had several minor name changes:*In 1970 the award was known as Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group...

.

A duet performance with rock band Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...

, "Who Says You Can't Go Home
Who Says You Can't Go Home
"Who Says You Can't Go Home" is a song written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora for the American rock band Bon Jovi's ninth studio album Have a Nice Day . The song was produced by John Shanks, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. It was released as the second single in North America in the first...

", 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
Enjoy the Ride (Sugarland album)
Enjoy the Ride is the second album by the country duo Sugarland, released on November 7, 2006 on Mercury Nashville Records. The album is the first one released with Sugarland as a duo , as former member Kristen Hall had departed earlier in 2006.The album debuted at No. 4 on the US Billboard 200 and...

in November 2006. Their third album, titled Love on the Inside
Love on the Inside
Love on the Inside is the third album by the American country music duo Sugarland, released in 2008 on Mercury Nashville Records. It was first released on July 22, 2008 as a Deluxe Fan Edition, including five bonus tracks, with the regular edition following one week later...

, was released on July 22, 2008.

In an interview on Fox News with Martha MacCullum, Nettles expressed interest in appearing in a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 play, stating in particular that she would like to play the role of Elphaba in Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...

.

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
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial was a public celebration of the then forthcoming inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States at the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 2009. By some estimates the...

, singing James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....

's "Shower the People" with James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....

 and John Legend
John Legend
John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...

.

On February 11, 2009, Sugarland received two nominations from the Academy of Country Music
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...

 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
Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn was an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, who were both vocalists and songwriters. They were paired by record producer Tim DuBois in 1990. Before the duo's foundation, both members of the duo were solo recording artists...

 nine-year run. Nettles also received a Milestone award, presented to her by Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...

.

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
Little Big Town
Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group. Founded in 1998, the group has comprised the same four members since its inception: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook, and Phillip Sweet. The quartet's musical style relies heavily on four-part vocal harmonies, with all...

. 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.

Personal life

Nettles grew up in the small town of Douglas, Georgia
Douglas, Georgia
Douglas is a city in Coffee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 11,589. Douglas is the county seat of Coffee County and the core city of the Douglas, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area which has a population of 48,708 as of the 2008 census...

. Nettles married Todd Van Sickle in 1998 and divorced in 2007.

On Saturday, November 26th, 2011, Jennifer married her boyfriend of two years, Justin Miller, in a sunset ceremony in Nashville.

Activism

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
Emily Saliers
Emily Saliers is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Indigo Girls. Saliers plays lead guitar as well as banjo, piano, mandolin, ukulele, bouzouki and many other instruments.-Background:...

, and Amos Lee
Amos Lee
Amos Lee is an American singer-songwriter whose musical style encompasses folk, rock and soul. Lee has four albums on Blue Note Records and has toured as an opening act for Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Norah Jones, Paul Simon, Merle Haggard, Van Morrison, John Prine, Dave Matthews Band and Adele. In...

 and raised funds for the American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...

, American Liver Foundation
American Liver Foundation
The American Liver Foundation is a non-profit organization that promotes liver health and disease prevention. The mission of the ALF is to facilitate, advocate and promote education, support and research for the prevention, treatment and cure of liver disease....

, Honor the Earth
Honor The Earth
Honor The Earth is a non-profit organization founded to raise awareness and financial support for Indigenous environmental justice. The organization was founded by Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers after meeting Winona LaDuke in 1991 in collaboration with Indigenous Environmental Network,...

, 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
We Are the World
"We Are the World" is a song and charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World...

 as part of Artists for Haiti.

Studio Demos

As Jennifer Nettles
Year Album
1991 For Your Love / You're The One
  • 2-song Demo Cassette on Timme Records label.

Studio Albums

As Soul Miner's Daughter
Year Album
1996 The Sacred And Profane
1998 Hallelujah


As Jennifer Nettles Band
Year Album
2000 Story Of Your Bones
2002 Gravity: Drag Me Down
2002 Rewind


As Jennifer Nettles
Year Album
2003 An Acoustic Evening with Jennifer Nettles
  • Live CD Recording
2004 An Acoustic Evening with Jennifer Nettles II
  • Live CD Recording

  • Guest Singles

    Year Single Artist Peak chart positions Album
    US Country
    Hot Country Songs
    Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

    US
    Billboard Hot 100
    The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

    CAN
    Canadian Hot 100
    The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...

    NOR
    VG-lista
    VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...

    IRE
    Irish Singles Chart
    The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...

    NZ
    Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
    The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...

    SWE
    Sverigetopplistan
    Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....

    SPA
    2006 "Who Says You Can't Go Home
    Who Says You Can't Go Home
    "Who Says You Can't Go Home" is a song written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora for the American rock band Bon Jovi's ninth studio album Have a Nice Day . The song was produced by John Shanks, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. It was released as the second single in North America in the first...

    "
    Bon Jovi
    Bon Jovi
    Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...

    1 107 Have a Nice Day
    Have a Nice Day (Bon Jovi album)
    Have a Nice Day has mostly received mixed or unfavorable reviews by music critics. It was commonly commented that Jon Bon Jovi was "streching" his lyrical abilities, while the best rating the album has gotten is an 8 out of 10...

    2010 "We Are the World 25 for Haiti
    We Are the World 25 for Haiti
    "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" is a charity single recorded by the supergroup Artists for Haiti in 2010. It is a remake of the 1985 hit song "We Are the World", which was written by American musicians Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and was recorded by USA for Africa to benefit famine relief in...

    "
    USA for Haiti 2 7 1 9 8 5 15 Non-album song
    "—" denotes releases that did not chart

    Music Videos

    Year Title Director
    2006 "Who Says You Can't Go Home" (with Bon Jovi) Anthony M. Bongiovi
    2010 "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" (as USA for Haiti) Paul Haggis
    Paul Haggis
    Paul Edward Haggis is a Canadian screenwriter, producer, and director. He spent his early career producing and directing various American and Canadian television network series.-Early life and education:...


    Awards

    • 1999 Lilith Fair
      Lilith Fair
      Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 to 1999, and was revived in the summer of 2010. It...

       Acoustic Talent Search winner, Soul Miner's Daughter
    • 2001 Independent Music Awards
      The Independent Music Awards
      The Independent Music Awards is an international program that honors top-ranked independent artists and releases in more than 50 Album, Song, Music Video and Design categories....

       Regional Poll in Atlanta for "Bad Girl's Lament"
    • 2005 American Music Awards
      American Music Awards
      -Conception:The AMAs were created by Dick Clark in 1973 to compete with the Grammys after the move of that year's show to Nashville, Tennessee led to CBS picking up the Grammy telecasts after its first two in 1971 and 1972 were broadcast on ABC...

      , Sugarland wins Favorite Breakthrough Artist
    • 2006 CMT
      CMT
      - Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...

       Collaborative Video of the Year, "Who Says You Can't Go Home"
    • 2007 Grammy Award
      Grammy Award
      A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

       Best Collaboration, "Who Says You Can't Go Home"
    • 2007 Country Music Association Awards
      Country Music Association Awards
      The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards, or the CMAs, and not to be confused with the ACM Awards, are voted on by business members of the Country Music Association. The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium in 1967...

      , Sugarland wins Vocal Duo Of the Year
    • 2008 Country Music Association Awards
      Country Music Association Awards
      The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards, or the CMAs, and not to be confused with the ACM Awards, are voted on by business members of the Country Music Association. The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium in 1967...

      , Sugarland wins Vocal Duo Of the Year
    • 2008 Academy of Country Music
      Academy of Country Music
      The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...

      , Song of the Year, "Stay" (songwriter)
    • 2008 Country Music Association Awards
      Country Music Association Awards
      The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards, or the CMAs, and not to be confused with the ACM Awards, are voted on by business members of the Country Music Association. The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium in 1967...

       Song of the Year, "Stay" (songwriter)
    • 2009 Grammy Award
      Grammy Award
      A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

       Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group for "Stay"
    • 2009 Grammy Award
      Grammy Award
      A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

       Best Country Song for "Stay" (songwriter)
    • 2009 Academy of Country Music
      Academy of Country Music
      The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...

      , Milestone award; Sugarland wins Vocal Duo of the Year
    • 2009 Country Music Association Awards
      Country Music Association Awards
      The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards, or the CMAs, and not to be confused with the ACM Awards, are voted on by business members of the Country Music Association. The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium in 1967...

      , Sugarland wins Vocal Duo Of the Year
    • 2010 Country Music Association Awards
      Country Music Association Awards
      The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards, or the CMAs, and not to be confused with the ACM Awards, are voted on by business members of the Country Music Association. The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium in 1967...

      , Sugarland wins Vocal Duo Of the Year
    • 2011 Country Music Association Awards
      Country Music Association Awards
      The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards, or the CMAs, and not to be confused with the ACM Awards, are voted on by business members of the Country Music Association. The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony in Nashville's Municipal Auditorium in 1967...

      , Sugarland wins Vocal Duo Of the Year

    External links

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