Kellie Pickler released her second album this week — a eponymous, relaxed, and occasionally humorous set of tracks where she got to take her sweet time and call her own shots. And, frankly, it’s amazing.

I’ll be honest: I loved Kellie on AmIdol, but I wasn’t a big fan of her first album. I’ve been listening to her sophomore effort for a couple days now, and I LOVE it. It’s a fantastic country album, and she has a lot to be proud of.

“It was so rushed and, honestly, now that it’s out and I can be honest about it, there are songs on there I would never even cut,” says Kellie of her first album, Small Town Girl. “It’s so good to finally say ‘Here I am! This is the real me, the real deal.”

Kellie co-wrote half the tracks on the album.

“I started songwriting after ‘Idol.’ I tried before but I hadn’t mastered it,” she said. “I think the key is to be real, to be honest. When we started to pull things from my journal — whether it was a bad breakup or a fight with a friend or a personal struggle with my family — that’s when everything started to click. When I tried to make up some fictional story, I wasn’t good at it. The only thing I’m good at is being me.”

She penned the melancholy “Somebody to Love Me” after a particularly painful split.

“Everything in my personal life was crumbling. I’d go out and sing in front of 50,000 people and then get on my tour bus and cry. I was lonely. I just wanted someone to love me,” said Pickler, who had a well-publicized relationship — and breakup — with Jordan Tootoo of the NHL’s Nashville Predators and is now dating one of her co-writers, Kyle Jacobs.

Anyway, I really can’t say enough good things about this album. I’m really digging it, and I think she did a great job. Congrats, Kellie. I always knew you had it in ya.

4 Responses to “Kellie Pickler Releases New Album on Her Own Terms”

1. Tracy says:

   October 2, 2008 at 1:45 pm

   Jordin Tootoo is a douchebag anyway.

   I really can’t stand Kellie Pickler but it was good she lost that dead weight.

   Reply
2. Paige says:

   October 2, 2008 at 7:06 pm

   what do you mean? she was not fat!

   Reply
3. kayla says:

   October 19, 2008 at 12:31 pm

   DUDE kelli pickler is straight up hot just like that carrie underwood!!!

   Reply
4. latexgirl says:

   February 7, 2011 at 12:25 am

   Kellie lives on her own terms always, good for her but i guess she should be a bit flexible at time. However I am a big fan of her, she is an awesome singer and a gorgeous lady.

   Reply

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