Kellie Dawn Pickler was born on June 28,1986 in Albemarle, North Carolina. Her mother, Cynthia Morton, was eighteen and unmarried. Morton kept the girl until she turned two. Maybe she felt she wasn’t “Mommy” material. Maybe she couldn’t give her the material things she wanted to. Maybe having a baby and raising a child took away too much of Morton’s freedom. Maybe she couldn’t give the baby the love she needed. For whatever reasons, Kellie Pickler’s mother gave up her custodial rights. Her grandfather, Clyde Pickler, Sr., and his wife Faye took over raising the child. Read this article and find out some more little known facts about Country Singer Kellie Pickler you’ll find interesting!
Early Life
Kellie Pickler went to Palestine, North Carolina to live with her paternal grandparents. Her grandmother passed away when Pickler was sixteen. She stayed with her grandfather and attended school. A little known fact about Kellie Pickler is that she won the title of “Miss Stanly County” when she was seventeen. She was in the race for the title of “Miss North Carolina in 2004. However, Kirstin Elrod won the title.
American Idol
Kellie Pickler graduated from North Stanly (not a misspelling) High School in New London in 2004. The following year, she became a contestant on FOX’s “American Idol.” During the competition, Pickler is quoted as saying, “I should be the American Idol because I deserve it.” She also said, “If I win, I’ll buy my grandpa the biggest beach house so we can go fishing together.
Competing against such hot talents as Taylor Hicks- “Little Known Facts About Taylor Hicks” -Katharine McPhee, Elliott Yamin and Bucky Covington, meant that the race would be tough. Hicks had his “Soul Patrol.” Pickler’s battle cry was simply “Pick Pickler.
As it turned out, Hicks won that season of “American Idol”. Kellie Pickler came in sixth place.
Recording Deal
However, showcasing her singing talent on the show still garnered Pickler a recording deal with BNA Records. “Red High Heels” was released in 2006, followed by her album.
Kellie Pickler’s second single, “I Wonder”, is about the mother she never knew.
If her singing career is successful, Kellie Pickler won’t have to work at Sonic Drive-In or Wal-Mart as she did in the past.
Clyde Pickler, Jr.
A little known fact about Country Singer Kellie Pickler is, one week after she was kicked off “American Idol”, her father Clyde, Jr. was released from prison. He had served three years in the Florida State Prison for aggravated assault and battery. Pickler stabbed a neighbor in his trailer park in 2003. This wasn’t the first time he was incarcerated. Kellie said her father has always had a problem with drugs and alcohol. Father and daughter were reunited after his release.
Romance
According to The National Enquirer, Kellie Pickler’s high school beau, Chris Ussery had a hard time getting over their break up. The five-foot-one-inch blonde has moved on. Currently, she’s dating Canadian Jordin Tootoo. Tootoo plays hockey for the Nashville Predators. His family has had their own problems. His older brother Terence, also a hockey player, committed suicide after he was arrested for drunken driving in 2002.
