By John Staton (Staff Writer)
Published: Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 9:43 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 6:10 p.m.
Another singer who rose to fame on hit TV show “American Idol” was announced Thursday as a headlining entertainer for the N.C. Azalea Festival.
Kellie Pickler, who finished sixth on “Idol” in 2005 but has since gone on to considerable success in the world of country music, will perform during the 62nd annual Azalea Festival on April 1.
 David Cook, who won the 2008 season of “American Idol,” was previously announced as the headliner for the April 2 Azalea concert.
“Looking at young stars who are starting out, including those from ‘American Idol,’ they tend to sell better,” said Azalea Festival President Sherman Lee Criner. “This is because they’re family friendly (and popular) with the twentysomethings and the teenagers. The older talents don’t always sell as well.”
Pickler, who hails from the small town of Albemarle, near Charlotte, is among the best-known non-winners to emerge from “Idol.” Her debut 2006 album, “Small Town Girl,” went gold.
“Obviously, her North Carolina ties are a big deal,” Criner said. “For the last couple of months quite a few people have been calling for Kellie.”
With blond good looks and a knockout voice that’s simultaneously soulful and twangy, Pickler has won fans with her charming personality, country accent and adversity-leaping personal story that includes being abandoned by her mother as a very young child. (Pickler sings about the situation in her hit song “I Wonder.”)
 And while she’s got a reputation for being something of a ditz – Pickler famously flailed on the TV quiz show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” when she said she thought Europe was a country, among several other misstatements – she has written a number of her own songs, including “Best Days of Your Life” with close friend and fellow singer Taylor Swift. Pickler is scheduled to open for Swift on the “Fearless Tour 2009” this summer.
Also announced Thursday were Azalea Festival celebrity guests and Street Fair entertainers.
On the list is Beth Grant, an actress who has performed in dozens of movies and TV shows. Something of a cult figure, Grant is known for often playing quirky, conservative, countrified characters, including a scary-strict pageant official in “Little Miss Sunshine” and Josh Brolin’s constantly complaining mother-in-law in “No Country For Old Men.” Both roles earned her Screen Actors Guild awards for as part of Best Ensemble. Grant’s family hails from near Kenansville, she attended New Hanover High School and is a graduate of East Carolina University... Read Full > |
