Sugarland
is an American country music duo (and former trio) comprising singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (background vocals, lead vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitar, harmonica). The duo was founded in 2003 by Bush and Kristen Hall (acoustic guitar, background vocals), and became a trio when Jennifer Nettles was brought in as lead singer. [1] Before joining Sugarland, Nettles fronted the Jennifer Nettles Band, and Hall had achieved success as a solo artist and songwriter. [2] Bush's earlier musical career included being half of the duo Billy Pilgrim, (along with Andrew Hyra), recording for Atlantic Records in the 1990s. [3]
Signed to Mercury Nashville Records in 2004, Sugarland broke through that year with the release of their debut single "Baby Girl", the first single from their multi-platinum debut album Twice the Speed of Life
. The trio became a duo in 2006, when they also released their sophomore album, Enjoy the Ride
. This album produced their first two #1 singles (in the U.S.), "Want To" and "Settlin'". In 2008 they released their third album titled Love on the Inside
. This album produced three more #1 singles with "All I Want to Do", "Already Gone" and "It Happens".
The duo has had an album or song on either the Billboard 200 or Hot 100, respectively, since the Hot 100 debut of their first single, Baby Girl. This brings their chart streak to 4.5 years and counting.
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SUGARLAND TICKETS
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Biography
Jennifer Nettles grew up in the small town of Douglas, Georgia. Nettles, Bush, and Hall were regulars in Atlanta's
folk-rock scene in the 1990s and early 2000s before Sugarland was formed, playing frequently at
Eddie's Attic in
Decatur, Georgia, which Nettles' ex-husband owned for a time. Nettles had played in a band called
Soul Miner's Daughter, and later formed the Jennifer Nettles Band. Bush was half of the folk-rock duo
Billy Pilgrim, and Hall had a solo career that often crossed paths with the
Indigo Girls.
2004–2006
Sugarland's debut album,
Twice the Speed of Life
, was released Oct. 26, 2004. Serving as its lead-off single was the song "
Baby Girl", which peaked at #2 on the
Billboard
Hot Country Songs charts and set a record for the longest chart run since the inception of
Nielsen SoundScan in 1990; it was also the highest-peaking debut single for a group in 13 years. Also released from the album were the singles "Something More", "Just Might (Make Me Believe)", and "Down in Mississippi (Up to No Good)", which peaked on the country charts at #2, #7, and #17, repectively. The album received Multi-Platinum certification for sales of two million copies. In late 2005, the duo performed with
Bon Jovi on
Country Music Television's musical fusion show,
Crossroads
. Nettles sang with Bon Jovi on their single "
Who Says You Can't Go Home". The song later went on to become a #1 hit on the country charts. They toured the U.S. and Canada performing with
Brad Paisley in 2005 and in 2006-2007 with
Kenny Chesney on his
Flip Flop Summer Tour
.
[4]
2006–2007
Kristen Hall left the group in 2006. According to a statement released on January 17, 2006 by Nettles and Bush, Hall left the group to "stay home and write songs."
[5] Critics allege that Hall might have been forced out in part due her weight problems, coupled with her open lesbian lifestyle, which didn't bode well for an up and coming, mainstream country music act.
[6]
Sugarland was nominated for the
Best New Artist Grammy [7] and performed the song "Something More" at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2006.
[8] They also performed at the 2006 CMT Music Awards, where they received multiple nominations including Group/Duo Video of the Year for
Just Might (Make Me Believe)
, Breakthrough Video of the Year for
Something More
, and Collaborative Video of the Year for
Who Says You Can't Go Home
.
[9] On November 7, 2006, the duo released their second album
Enjoy the Ride
. It sold 211,000 during its first week and opened at #4 on the US Top 200 and at #2 on the Top Country Albums charts. The first two singles from this album — "
Want To" and "
Settlin'" — both reached Number One on the country music charts, while "
Everyday America" and "
Stay" were both Top Ten hits.
[10] A limited edition of the CD, sold exclusively at
Wal-Mart, was released in late 2007 and included a 5-song Christmas EP. The EP contained one original song - "Little Wood Guitar" - written by Bush and
Ellis Paul.
USA Today
included the song in a list of new Christmas songs released in 2007 "that might have some staying power."
[11]
In 2007, Sugarland performed at multiple award ceremonies, including the 2007 CMT Awards
[12] and the 2007 ACM awards.
[13] They performed a cover of
Beyoncé Knowles' "
Irreplaceable" at the
American Music Awards. Knowles joined Sugarland on stage starting with the second verse. The performance drew some poor reviews with
The Village Voice
calling it "a well-intentioned mess,"
[14] although other critics also noted that the crowd enjoyed the performance.
[15]
They appeared on the
The Tonight Show
, and late in the year they headlined their first concert tour: the Change for Change Tour along with opening acts
Little Big Town and
Jake Owen. At the 41st CMA Awards, the group won the award for Vocal Duo of the Year.
[16]
Sugarland also appeared on a
Sesame Street episode that first aired during Season 38 on September 14, 2007. During the segment they performed "Songs" with
Elmo.
[17]
2008–present
In February 2007, Nettles and Bush began recording
Love on the Inside
as a follow up to
Enjoy the Ride
. The Deluxe Fan Edition was released on July 22, 2008, with the regular edition released one week later. The fan edition includes the duo's collaboration with Little Big Town and Jake Owen, a cover of
The Dream Academy's 1985 hit "
Life in a Northern Town". It also introduces four other bonus tracks, including "Fall Into Me", "Operation: Working Vacation", "Wishing", and a cover of
Matt Nathanson's "Come On Get Higher".
[18]
The lead-off single was "
All I Want to Do" which debuted at #27 on the country charts, the highest debut for the duo. In August 2008 the song became their third #1 single. The following single, "Already Gone", released on September 8, 2008, became their fourth #1 in January 2009.
Sugarland started the
Love on the Inside Tour
on September 13, 2008 in
Asheville, North Carolina. It was their second headining tour. They were supported by
Ashton Shepherd and
Kellie Pickler and the tour concluded after 25 performances on November 16, 2008 in
Bossier City, Louisiana.
[19]
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.
[20]
On February 11, 2009, Sugarland received two nominations from the
Academy of Country Music. They were nominated for Top Vocal Duo and Vocal Event of the Year for "Life in a Northern Town".
[21] 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.
[22] Nettles also received a Milestone award, presented to her by
Reba McEntire.
[23]
In March 2009, Sugarland toured in Europe starting with performances at military stations in Italy. They are also scheduled to perform in
France, the
Netherlands,
Germany,
England,
Scotland, and
Ireland. Later in 2009 they will be joining
Keith Urban in select cities as part of his Escape Together World Tour and will also join
Kenny Chesney on his Sun City Carnival Tour.
[24]
The third single from
Love on the Inside
, and 11th single overall, "
It Happens", was released in February 2009 and became their fifth Number One in May 2009.
On May 19, 2009, Sugarland received five CMT Award nominations including a nomination for Video of the Year.
[25] They were presented the award for Video Duo of the Year at the award show that broadcasted on June 16, 2009.
[26] During the awards show, they also performed "
Love Shack" with
The B-52's.
[27]
On July 2, 2009 a performance that Sugarland recorded for
Soundstage debuted on many
PBS channels.
[28]
Sugarland's first live DVD/CD
Live on the Inside
was released exclusively through
Wal-Mart stores on August 4, 2009.
[29]
Mercury Records announced that Sugarland will release their first holiday album,
Gold and Green
on October 6, 2009. The album will feature five original songs and five traditional carols.
[30]
Lawsuit
In July 2008, Kristen Hall filed a lawsuit for $1.5 million against Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles stating that she was being excluded from sharing profits as had been agreed upon after her departure in 2005 to pursue a solo career.
[31] Hall claims to have coined the name of the band and allowed Bush and Nettles to "to obtain equal co-ownership of the trademark and service mark".
[32] Hall's name is listed on the trademark for "Sugarland".
[33]
The band was previously sued in 2004 by
Simone Simonton and
Bret Hartley alleging that the two were cut out of authorship for songs they contributed on the
Twice the Speed of Life
album. The case was settled out of court and the settlement terms were confidential.
[33]
Backing Band
- Bass - Annie Clements
- Keyboards & Accordion - Brandon Bush
- Guitar - Thad Beaty
- Lead Guitar - Scott Patton
- Drums - Travis McNabb
Discography
Awards
| Year
| Award
| Category
|
| 2005
| American Music Awards
| Breakthrough Favorite New Artist
|
| 2006
| Academy of Country Music Awards
| Top New Vocal Duo/Group
|
| 2007
| CMT Music Awards
| Duo Video of the Year – "Want To"
|
| Country Music Association Awards
| Vocal Duo of the Year
|
| 2008
| CMT Music Awards
| Duo Video of the Year – "Stay"
|
| Academy of Country Music Awards
| Single of the Year – "Stay"
|
| Song of the Year – "Stay"
|
| Country Music Association Awards
| Song of the Year – "Stay"
|
| Vocal Duo of the Year
|
| 2009
| 51st Grammy Awards
| Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group – "Stay"
|
| Best Country Song – "Stay"
|
| Academy of Country Music Awards
| Top Vocal Duo
|
| CMT Music Awards
| Duo Video of the Year – "All I Wanna Do"
|
References
- Artist biography: Sugarland
- Kristen Hall's Sweet Success
- Tunes, Technology, and Time Travel: a Billy Pilgrim Biography
- Sweet success for Sugarland
- Kristen Hall leaves Sugarland
- ''The9513.com''. The Malec Minute: Sugarland Lawsuit Sheds Light on Hall’s Departure August 8, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
- Meet the best new artist nominees
- U2 Wins Five GRAMMY Awards
- Sugarland: Awards
- Sugarland: Triple Threat
- These artists may just cut an evergreen of a Christmas song
- 2007 CMT Awards
- Final Performers and Presenters
- The American Music Awards: A Running Diary
- Good, bad and ugly at AMA
- 41st Annual CMA Awards: 2007 Award Winners
- MuppetWiki. Sesame Street: Episode 4149. September 14, 2007. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
- Sugarland kicks up their heels: With third album, fun-loving country duo flip the switch to bona-fide stars
- Sugarland To Headline Love on the Inside Tour
- Grammy.com. 51st Annual Grammy Awards Winners List. (See Category 38 and Category 41.) Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- Academy of Country Music. 2009 Nominees. February 11, 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2009.
- DeDekker, Jeff. Following the ACMs, part four. ''Leader-Post'', April 5, 2009. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
- McDonnell, Brandy (BAM's Blog). ACM Awards Continues. ''The Oklahoman'', April 5, 2009. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
- NashvilleGab.com. Sugarland is going international. February 10, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
- Gerome, John. Sugarland leads with 5 CMT award nominations. Associated Press, May 19, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- CMT.com 2009 CMT Music Awards Winners. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
- CMT.com. Sugarland and the B-52s perform "Love Shack". June 16, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
- Public Braodcasting Service. Soundstage: Sugarland. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
- Country On Demand.Sugarland readies first live DVD/CD set. June 16, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
- Morran, Chris. Sugarland to release first holiday album. ''Oklahoma Magazine'', August, 31, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
- ''USA Today''. Sugarland founder files $1.5M lawsuit against band. August 8, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- Harrison, Shane. Hall’s lawsuit not first filed against Sugarland. ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', August 8, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2009.