To say that
Kellie Pickler is excited about her sophomore album, which dropped today, is an understatement. With more time to dedicate to recording (For her first album, her main recording time was in between shows on the AI tour.), a more seasoned approach, and even a new outlook on life, Kellie's new CD will reflect all the changes she's experienced since her debut album.
As she explained in our exclusive interview yesterday, she had more time "to be able to make it me." She also called the whole experience this time around more "enjoyable," as she was able to do some fun things, like collaborating with her new best friend Taylor Swift. The two sing a duet on the album called "Best Days Of Your Life," about a bad break-up. While there are other heartbreak songs on the album, Kellie is quick to note that it has a bit of everything, from the angst-ridden numbers to the more fun, rockin' songs. In fact, "Rocks Instead of Rice," written by Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins (who also wrote "Before He Cheats" for
Carrie Underwood) is a revenge fantasy about a girl who crashes an ex's wedding.
The songs are all very personal to Kellie and her experiences, but she named two songs as being closest to her heart: "Somebody To Love Me" and "One Last Time".
Somebody was a song that reflects a time in her life when all of her business endeavors were coming together but her personal life was "crumbling." Writing the song with Aimee Mayo and Chris Lindsey gave her the sense of closure she needed on some tough issues in her life.
On top of a whirlwind media tour to promote the new album, Kellie leaves right from an appearance on "Live With Regis And Kelly" to go tour with the band Sugarland. Having toured with Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts already, Kellie feels very blessed these days. She calls the live shows an "incredible feeling," going on to say that hearing her fans sing along to her songs and scream her name "never gets old."
Kellie is quite open about some initial missteps in her career just after her stint on "Idol," calling herself young and naïve. These are all things she's been able to learn from, however, and unlike her image as a bit of an airhead while on AI, she definitely has a good head on her shoulders. She has learned to put her foot down, and she's making smarter decisions these days. Before American Idol, Kellie had never been on an airplane or even seen the inside of an airport for that matter. Now, she's traveled the world, including a trip to Iraq with the USO, which she will be doing again later this year.
With her star on the rise and a recent CMA nomination for Best New Artist, Kellie hasn't forgotten her "Idol" roots. Instead, she says she feels "so blessed to have been a part of the show." She went on to say that it has done nothing but help her in her career, and she even considers her fellow Idols and the people behind the scenes to be like family, saying that it's like a giant reunion when she goes back to perform.
Kellie gushed about her relationship with the AI producers, saying that she knows each of them would help her if she ever found herself in crisis. "Another amazing thing American Idol gave to me was long-lasting friendships," Kellie said. She stays in touch with
Bucky Covington and
Mandisa, whom she calls "one of the most amazing people I've ever met in my life." She was in
Katharine McPhee's wedding back in February and counts her as one of her best friends. She's generally impressed with each of her fellow Idols from season five, saying that each person in the top 10 is very successful.
Kellie is most excited for her fans to be able to listen to the album in its entirety, as only clips have been available to them until now. She looks forward to the feedback, and if her fans feel half as strongly as she does about this album and all of the songs' underlying means, they are going to love it. It makes sense that her debut album was called "Small Town Girl" while her sophomore effort will be self-titled, as this is the real Kellie Pickler.
Check out
Kellie's Transformation gallery from Season 5!
If you've been on the americanidol.com forums recently, you've seen the intense yet friendly debate between The Archies and The Word Nerds over which David has the better single. The bottom line is that both have released songs that the public loves, and the Billboard charts reflect just that. The top two debuts of 2008 are "Crush" by 
Los Angelenos and 
Tomorrow is the big day for 
Riding high from her recent CMA nominations for Album of The Year and Female Vocalist of The Year, 
Nikki McKibbin
