Miranda Lambert
Miranda Leigh Lambert is an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. 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. In 2024, Lambert was awarded the Country Icon Award at the People's Choice Country Awards.
After signing with Epic Records, she released her first Epic album and second overall 2005's Kerosene. It 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 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. 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. 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. 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 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.
Early life
Miranda Leigh Lambert was born November 10, 1983, to Rick and Bev Lambert in Longview, Texas, and was raised in Lindale, Texas. She was named after her great-grandmother, Lucy Miranda. She has one younger brother.Her parents met while her mother was attending camp at Southern Methodist University where her father was an on-campus undercover narcotics officer, and they got together a few years later. Her father is a former Dallas police officer who played in a country-rock group called Contraband in the 1970s. Her parents later became private detectives and were hired by lawyers for Paula Jones in the Clinton v. Jones case. After the oil crisis dampened the economy in Texas, her family lost everything.
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.
While still in high school, Lambert made her professional singing debut with "The Texas Pride Band". She also fronted the house band at the Reo Palm Isle in Longview, Texas, a long-running venue that had featured Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson, and the place where Brooks & Dunn started out as the house band.
Music career
2000–2003: Career beginnings, self-titled debut album, and ''Nashville Star''
At 16, Lambert appeared on the Johnnie High Country Music Revue in Arlington, Texas, the same talent show that had helped launch the career of LeAnn Rimes. Lambert then acquired a recording session in Nashville, Tennessee, but left the studio after she became frustrated with the "pop" type of music presented to her. She went back to Texas in 2000 and asked her father to teach her how to play guitar, so she could write her own songs. In 2001, she released her self-titled debut album which consisted of 10 tracks.In 2002, Dusty Meador hired Lambert to perform at Tye Phelps' country music restaurant and venue Love and War in Texas. Lambert continued to perform around the Texas Music Scene opening for Cooder Graw, Kevin Fowler, and Jack Ingram. In 2003, she auditioned for the talent competition Nashville Star, where she earned a third-place finish behind Buddy Jewell and John Arthur Martinez. During her 9-week stay on Nashville Star, Lambert caught the attention of the show's judge and Sony Music executive, Tracy Gershon, who later convinced the label to sign her.
2004–2008: ''Kerosene'' and ''Crazy Ex- Girlfriend''
On September 15, 2003, she signed with Epic Records. Her debut single, "Me and Charlie Talking", co-written by her father and Heather Little, was released in summer of 2004 as the lead single to her first Epic album, titled Kerosene. This album was also her first to be produced by Frank Liddell, best known for his work with his wife Lee Ann Womack and David Nail. Lambert wrote 11 of the album's 12 songs. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts, and eventually gained a Platinum certification by the RIAA for shipments of over one million copies, selling more than 930,000 copies up to July 2008. Overall, the album produced four Top 40 singles on the Billboard country charts, including the title track which was a Top 20 hit. Lambert also toured with Keith Urban and George Strait in early 2006. In 2007, she toured with Dierks Bentley and Toby Keith. On Thursday, August 7, 2007Miranda played at the famous Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo in Sikeston, Missouri.
Lambert's second album, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, was released on May 1, 2007. She wrote eight of the album's 11 tracks, including its four singles. Much of the track "Gunpowder & Lead", the album's third single and her highest-charting single, was written while she was taking a concealed-carry handgun class in her home town. Fady Joudah of The New Yorker said the album proved "she has talent and charisma on a par with Dolly Parton, another blond beauty who was once underestimated."
In 2005, at the 40th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, Lambert won the CoverGirl "Fresh Face of Country Music Award". She was also nominated for the Country Music Association's Horizon Award in 2005; in 2007, Lambert also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her single "Kerosene". She also won the Top New Female Vocalist award at the 2007 ACM Awards. At the 2008 ACM Awards, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend won Album of the Year.
2009–2011: ''Revolution''
Lambert released her third album, Revolution, on September 29, 2009. She co-wrote 11 of the album's 15 tracks; the album also includes co-writes from Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum and Blake Shelton.Revolution received significant critical praise on its release. At Metacritic the album received an average score of 85, based on 11 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim". The album also received positive reviews from Rolling Stone, Boston Globe and Slant Magazine. Entertainment Weekly called the release "the best mainstream-country album so far this year".
Lambert debuted her new single, "Dead Flowers", at the 44th annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 5, 2009. It was released on May 4, 2009, and was a minor Top 40 hit on the charts. The album's second single, "White Liar", was released on August 17, 2009, and debuted at No. 50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. In February 2010, "White Liar" became Lambert's first Top Five hit, reaching a peak of No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
The House That Built Me, the album's third single, was released on March 8, 2010, and became a No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It stayed there for four weeks, and received platinum certification from the RIAA on July 8, 2010. "Only Prettier" followed as the album's fourth single in July 2010, and its accompanying music video went viral. The music video for "Only Prettier" featured cameo appearances by fellow country artists Kellie Pickler, Laura Bell Bundy, and Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum. In December 2010, "Only Prettier" reached a peak of number 12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, giving Lambert her seventh Top 20 hit. "Heart Like Mine" was released in January 2011 as the fifth and final single from Revolution. It became Lambert's second number-one hit on the country charts for the chart dated May 28, 2011.
In promotion of Revolution, Lambert launched a headlining tour; Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars in March 2010, with stops in 22 cities and a performance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival.
On September 1, 2010, it was announced that Lambert had received a record-setting 9 CMA award nominations. She performed at the 44th Annual Country Music Association Awards on November 10, 2010. She won the CMA Award for Female Vocalist of the Year, and her Revolution won Album of the Year. Lambert and Sheryl Crow performed "Coal Miner's Daughter" as a tribute to country legend Loretta Lynn who also entered the stage to join them and finished the song with Crow and Lambert as backup. Later that night, Lynn presented the Female Vocalist of the Year CMA award to Lambert. On February 13, 2011, Lambert won a Grammy Award in the Best Female Country Vocal Performance category for "The House That Built Me".