Miranda Lambert
Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place on the television program Nashville Star, a singing competition which aired on the USA Network. Outside her solo career, she is a member of the Pistol Annies, a group she formed in 2011 alongside Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley. Lambert has been honored by the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards. Lambert has been honored with more Academy of Country Music Awards than any artist in history and was named by the Chicago Tribune as the "greatest country music artist of all time" in 2019. [3]
Miranda Lambert
Lambert's second and major-label debut album Kerosene (2005) was certified Platinum in the United States and produced the singles "Me and Charlie Talking", "Bring Me Down", "Kerosene" and "New Strings". All four singles reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs. Her second album, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, was released in early 2007. Three of its singles ("Famous in a Small Town", "Gunpowder & Lead" and "More Like Her") peaked within the top 20 on the country songs chart, with "Gunpowder & Lead" becoming her first top 10 entry in July 2008. Her third album, Revolution, was released in September 2009. Two of its songs – "The House That Built Me" and "Heart Like Mine" – topped the Hot Country Songs chart.
2011's Four the Record included the singles "Baggage Claim", "Over You", "Fastest Girl in Town", "Mama's Broken Heart" and "All Kinds of Kinds". Lambert released her fifth album, Platinum, in 2014.[4] The record won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album, and the album's lead single "Automatic" reached the top five on the Country charts.[5] Her sixth studio album, The Weight of These Wings, was released on November 18, 2016, and subsequently certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[6] Her seventh studio album, Wildcard, was released on November 1, 2019, and went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Country Album in early 2021. Three singles from the album ("It All Comes out in the Wash", "Bluebird", "Settling Down") reached the top 20 of the country music charts, and the album's second official single "Bluebird" became Lambert's first song to top the Billboard Country Airplay Chart as a solo artist since 2012.
She later collaborated with singer-songwriters Jon Randall and Jack Ingram for the album The Marfa Tapes, departing from her usual sound and opting for an acoustic, stripped-back feel. It was released on May 7, 2021 to acclaim from critics. Lambert released her eighth solo album Palomino on April 29, 2022. The same year she was listed on 100 Most Influential People by Time.[7]
Early life[edit]
Miranda Leigh Lambert was born November 10, 1983,[1] to Rick and Bev (née Hughes) Lambert in Longview, Texas,[2] and was raised in Lindale, Texas. She was named after her great-grandmother, Lucy Miranda.[8] She has one younger brother.[9]
Her parents met while Bev was attending camp at Southern Methodist University and Rick was an on-campus undercover narcotics officer, and they got together a few years later. Rick is a former Dallas police officer who played in a country-rock group called Contraband in the 1970s.[10] Rick and Bev later became private detectives and even worked on the high-profile case of the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. After the oil crisis dampened the economy in Texas, her family lost everything.[11]
After the downturn, things got better and her parents began a faith-based ministry and offered their home as a shelter for the victims of domestic violence and their children. Miranda has said that this experience fueled her music and that her song "Gunpowder & Lead" is a reflection of that.[12]
While still in high school, Lambert made her professional singing debut with "The Texas Pride Band".[13] She also fronted the house band at the Reo Palm Isle[14] in Longview, Texas, a long-running venue that had presented legends such as Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson, and the place where Brooks & Dunn started out as the house band.
Endorsements and business ventures[edit]
In 2009, Lambert and two other singers became the new faces of Cotton Inc.'s revived "The Touch, The Feel of Cotton" campaign.[86] She has appeared in ads to promote cotton, and the website features a free download of the full version of her song, "Fabric of My Life".[87]
In December 2014, Lambert's line of shoes and boots were released at DSW.[88] In November 2014, Lambert's partnership with Chrysler's Ram trucks was announced. Under the partnership, Ram gave Lambert a customized 1500 Laramie Longhorn which she auctioned off, with proceeds going to Lambert's Muttnation Foundation which betters the lives for shelter animals.[89]
In May 2021, Lambert became the first female artist to open her own bar in the Lower Broadway entertainment district of downtown Nashville, Tennessee.[90] Named Casa Rosa (Spanish for "Pink House") and opened in partnership with TC Restaurant Group, the 17,400-square-foot Tex-Mex-themed establishment features live music on three of its four stories, plus a rooftop bar, and is decked out in mostly pink decor and various memorabilia from Lambert's career (including the giant birdcage from the "Bluebird" music video).[90][91] At the bar's opening night party on May 25, 2021, Lambert performed a duet of "Summer Nights" from Grease with her husband Brendan McLoughlin, amidst a star-studded lineup of performances from other country singers.[92]
Lambert also has her own clothing line titled Idyllwind,[93] a brand of wine with the Red 55 Winery imprint,[94] and owns The Pink Pistol boutique in her hometown of Lindale, Texas.[95]
In 2009, Lambert opened MuttNation Foundation, with her mother, Bev. The organization focuses on rescue animals and shelters, and Lambert has been vocal about the cause being very close to her heart. The core issues MuttNation works on are:[96]
In 2017, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey's devastation, MuttNation rescued dozens of animals as a part of its emergency/natural disasters objective.[97]
In 2014, Lambert opened Redemption Ranch, a shelter in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, her adopted home town where she lived with Shelton.[98]
To support the foundation, Lambert released a line of pet products in 2019 that are sold inside Tractor Supply Company stores.[99]
In September 2022, MuttNation partnered with Greater Good Charities via the global nonprofit's GOODS Program to provide 2 million pet meals to help families going through economic challenges to stay with their beloved pets.[100]
Personal life[edit]
In 2006, Lambert began dating singer Blake Shelton. They got engaged in May 2010[101][102] and were married on May 14, 2011, at the Don Strange Ranch in Boerne, Texas.[102] On July 20, 2015, the couple announced that they were divorcing after four years of marriage.[103][104]
In December 2015, it was confirmed that Lambert was dating R&B singer Anderson East; they met at Nashville's Live on the Green Music Festival in September of that year.[105] In 2016, Lambert paid $3.4 million for a 400-plus acre farm, with three residences, near Primm Springs, Tennessee.[106] In April 2018, it was confirmed that Lambert and East had broken up months earlier after two years of dating.[107] Lambert started dating Turnpike Troubadours frontman Evan Felker in February 2018.[108] His estranged wife, Staci, has alleged that he left her suddenly to be with Lambert.[109] They broke up in August 2018.[110]
On February 16, 2019, Lambert announced on social media that she married New York City Police Department Officer Brendan McLoughlin on January 26, 2019, in Davidson County, Tennessee.[111][112][113]
Lambert has nine tattoos of various objects and symbols, and the word "tumbleweed." In October 2018, she added a queen of hearts tattoo on her forearm.[114]
Studio albums
with Pistol Annies
Collaborative albums