Outspoken, spunky Pickler lives dream By Peter Cooper/Tennessean (06/09/07) -- Kellie Pickler was a kid in a trailer in Albermarle, N.C.
She would sit and look through magazines and point at the kind of mansion she wanted to own when she grew up. Bored with that, she'd look through car magazines and decide on the color of Mercedes-Benz she'd like to own.
"I thought she was full of it, to tell you the truth," said her sister, Courtney Pickler. "I never thought it was going to happen, but she used to talk about it all the time. I remember when we were in the back of our grandparents' Suburban and we were singing 'I Will Always Love You' by Dolly Parton, and Kellie said, 'I'm going to be famous one day.' I was like, 'Yeah, OK.' "
There's no mansion yet, but Pickler has the Mercedes. It's black. She's 20, and famous enough to record music, make videos, be criticized and approved of by strangers and sing Sunday night to an expected LP Field crowd of more than 30,000 for the final night of CMA Music Festival.
Pickler's Small Town Girl album has sold 550,000 copies since its release last Halloween. She's been known to millions since 2005, when she finished sixth on American Idol.
"A lot of people compared me and Carrie Underwood in the beginning," Pickler said. "But then once I opened my mouth, people were like, 'OK, they're nothing alike.'"
And they aren't. Underwood weighs her words before she says them. Pickler sometimes speaks before she thinks, a trait that earned her praise and criticism during and after her Idol time. On the show, she was laughed at for being ignorant to the world. She pronounced "salmon" as "sal-man," for instance.
And of late, she has set tongues to wagging by being seen (gasp) down on Lower Broadway having (double gasp) fun.
"Some people have said, 'Aw, Kellie's changed. She parties.' I'm 20 years old. I just moved to Nashville. I'm just now out on my own. I'm not hurting anyone, or doing anything any other 20-year-old isn't doing. If this is the worst I've done, I think I've done pretty well … considering the circumstances."
Going To The Kellie Concert If you are planning to watch Bonfires and Amplifiers concert to see and meet Kellie Pickler here are a few things that may be helpful in making your experience worth while. This opportunity doesn't happen too often so it's best to make the most of it.
Golden rule is, "Be prepared." That good ol' boyscout motto is very helpful.
Study the venue. Go to ticketmaster.com and get the directions to the concert and match it with yahoo maps or mapquest. Get driving directions, if you plan to drive. If someone can drop you off and pick you up then do that instead. Print the venue's sitting area and locate your spot. Don't depend too much on the venue's ushers. Learn where to go when you get there. Bring extra cash, maybe at least $80, ATMs at the venue charge a hefty fee for withdrawals. Eat light before heading to the concert and bring bottled water. Maybe some candy or very light food. You're not going to a restaurant. Sip water during the concert not drink! Your adrenalin will make you forget about eating. If your stomach will get messed up and have to leave a performance to go potty or pee, you'll never forgive yourself.
Sunday 20 May 2007 - 17:59:27 5
Sixty Four Minutes With Kellie Pickler Smirnoff Rock & Roll Lounge, Mt. View, CA (05/18/07) -- Kellie Pickler was scheduled to sign autographs after Brad Paisley finished his portion of the Bonfires & Amplifiers tour in Mt. View, CA. We went to the concert only to watch Kellie so after her part of the concert was over we were ready to leave the amphitheatre and line up to meet her. But we thought it was over two hours away so we decided to leave 15 minutes before the end of the concert to give us a head start. And so we did. I went up to the information booth to make sure we were on the right line since Swift, Paisley, and Pickler were signing. It's a good thing I did because we were on the wrong line, for Taylor Swift!
Saturday 19 May 2007 - 05:55:26 6
Of Kellie and Strip Poker ... Huh? What? Mountain View, CA (05/18/07) -- Three songs before the conclusion of the Bonfires & Amplifiers concert at the Shoreline Amphitheatre, Brad Paisley was performing alone on the stage while his band members where taking a "break."
When it was time for them to come back to the stage he said it was not fair that he have not introduced his band members to the audience. Instead of calling them one-by-one to the stage, he decided to just let the cameraman to the back of the stage and show us what his guys were doing. I don't recall their names exactly but here's what they were doing.
Saturday 19 May 2007 - 03:40:37 1
By Peter Cooper/Tennessean (06/09/07) -- 
Kellie Pickler was a kid in a trailer in Albermarle, N.C.
She would sit and look through magazines and point at the kind of mansion she wanted to own when she grew up. Bored with that, she'd look through car magazines and decide on the color of Mercedes-Benz she'd like to own.
"I thought she was full of it, to tell you the truth," said her sister, Courtney Pickler. "I never thought it was going to happen, but she used to talk about it all the time. I remember when we were in the back of our grandparents' Suburban and we were singing 'I Will Always Love You' by Dolly Parton, and Kellie said, 'I'm going to be famous one day.' I was like, 'Yeah, OK.' "
There's no mansion yet, but Pickler has the Mercedes. It's black. She's 20, and famous enough to record music, make videos, be criticized and approved of by strangers and sing Sunday night to an expected LP Field crowd of more than 30,000 for the final night of CMA Music Festival.
Pickler's Small Town Girl album has sold 550,000 copies since its release last Halloween. She's been known to millions since 2005, when she finished sixth on American Idol.
"A lot of people compared me and Carrie Underwood in the beginning," Pickler said. "But then once I opened my mouth, people were like, 'OK, they're nothing alike.'"
And they aren't. Underwood weighs her words before she says them. Pickler sometimes speaks before she thinks, a trait that earned her praise and criticism during and after her Idol time. On the show, she was laughed at for being ignorant to the world. She pronounced "salmon" as "sal-man," for instance.
And of late, she has set tongues to wagging by being seen (gasp) down on Lower Broadway having (double gasp) fun.
"Some people have said, 'Aw, Kellie's changed. She parties.' I'm 20 years old. I just moved to Nashville. I'm just now out on my own. I'm not hurting anyone, or doing anything any other 20-year-old isn't doing. If this is the worst I've done, I think I've done pretty well … considering the circumstances." 
If you are planning to watch Bonfires and Amplifiers concert to see and meet Kellie Pickler here are a few things that may be helpful in making your experience worth while. This opportunity doesn't happen too often so it's best to make the most of it.
Golden rule is, "Be prepared." That good ol' boyscout motto is very helpful.
Study the venue. Go to ticketmaster.com and get the directions to the concert and match it with yahoo maps or mapquest. Get driving directions, if you plan to drive. If someone can drop you off and pick you up then do that instead. Print the venue's sitting area and locate your spot. Don't depend too much on the venue's ushers. Learn where to go when you get there. Bring extra cash, maybe at least $80, ATMs at the venue charge a hefty fee for withdrawals. Eat light before heading to the concert and bring bottled water. Maybe some candy or very light food. You're not going to a restaurant. Sip water during the concert not drink! Your adrenalin will make you forget about eating. If your stomach will get messed up and have to leave a performance to go potty or pee, you'll never forgive yourself.
Smirnoff Rock & Roll Lounge, Mt. View, CA (05/18/07) -- Kellie Pickler was scheduled to sign autographs after Brad Paisley finished his portion of the Bonfires & Amplifiers tour in Mt. View, CA. We went to the concert only to watch Kellie so after her part of the concert was over we were ready to leave the amphitheatre and line up to meet her. But we thought it was over two hours away so we decided to leave 15 minutes before the end of the concert to give us a head start. And so we did. I went up to the information booth to make sure we were on the right line since Swift, Paisley, and Pickler were signing. It's a good thing I did because we were on the wrong line, for Taylor Swift!
Mountain View, CA (05/18/07) -- Three songs before the conclusion of the Bonfires & Amplifiers concert at the Shoreline Amphitheatre, Brad Paisley was performing alone on the stage while his band members where taking a "break."
When it was time for them to come back to the stage he said it was not fair that he have not introduced his band members to the audience. Instead of calling them one-by-one to the stage, he decided to just let the cameraman to the back of the stage and show us what his guys were doing. I don't recall their names exactly but here's what they were doing.
