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Faith Hill
Faith Hill in concert in Nashville on the Soul2Soul II Tour, July 29, 2006
Background information
Birth name	Audrey Faith Perry
Born	September 21, 1967 (1967-09-21) (age 41) Ridgeland, Mississippi
Genre(s)	Country pop
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1993–present
Label(s)	Warner Bros. Records
Website	http://www.faithhill.com

Audrey Faith McGraw, known professionally as Faith Hill (born September 21, 1967), is an American country singer, known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill's voice (described as both soulful and raspy¹) and careful song selection² have helped her to sell more than 35 million records and accumulate eleven number-one singles on the Country charts.

Hill has been honored by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music, the Grammy Awards, the American Music Awards and the People's Choice Awards. Her Soul2Soul II Tour 2006 with husband McGraw became the highest-grossing country tour of all time.³ In 2001 she was named one of the "30 Most Powerful Women in America" by Ladies Home Journal.

Biography

Early life

Hill was born Audrey Faith Perry in Ridgeland, Mississippi near Jackson, Mississippi. She was adopted as an infant and raised by a couple in the nearby town of Star. Her adoptive parents reared their two biological sons along with Hill in a very Christian environment.²

Hill's vocal talent was apparent early, and she had her first public performance, a 4-H luncheon, when she was seven.⁴ In 1976, a few days before her 9th birthday, she attended a concert by Elvis Presley at the State Fair Coliseum, in Jackson, which impressed her deeply. By the time she was a teenager, Hill was a regular performer at area churches, even those not in her own Baptist denomination.⁵ At seventeen, Hill formed a band that played in local rodeos. She briefly attended college at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi, but at 19 quit school to move to Nashville and pursue her dream of being a country singer. In her early days in Nashville, Hill auditioned to be a backup singer for Reba McEntire, but failed to secure the job.² After a stint selling t-shirts, Hill became a secretary at a music publishing firm.⁴

Apart from her quest for entry into the music industry, Hill also began working toward a more robust family life. In 1988 she married songwriter and music executive Dan Hill, who provided the surname she would use as she became famous. Her first husband was not prominent Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Hill despite the similar name.⁶ Two years later she began a search for her natural mother, whom she eventually met and with whom she corresponded until her mother's death.⁷

A co-worker heard Hill singing to herself one day, and soon the head of her music publishing company was encouraging her to become a demo singer for the firm.⁴ She supplemented this work by singing backup vocals for songwriter Gary Burr, who often performed his new songs at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe. During one of those performances, an executive from Warner Bros. Records was in the audience, and, impressed with Hill's voice, began the process of signing her to a recording contract.²

1993 – 1997: Country success

Hill's debut album was Take Me as I Am (1993); sales were strong, buoyed by the chart success of "Wild One". Hill became the first female country singer in 30 years to hold Billboard's number one position for four consecutive weeks when "Wild One" managed the feat in 1994.⁸ Her version of Erma Franklin's "Piece of My Heart", also went to the top of the country charts in 1994,⁴ although rock fans drew unflattering comparisons to Janis Joplin's cover.^{citation needed} The album sold a total of 3 million copies.⁴

Shortly after the release of her album, Hill found her marriage falling apart. She and Dan Hill divorced in 1994.⁷

The recording of Faith's second album was delayed by surgery to repair a ruptured blood vessel on her vocal cords. It Matters to Me finally appeared in 1995 and was another success, with the title track becoming her fourth #1 country single. Several other top 10 singles followed, and more than 3 million copies of the album were sold.⁴ The fifth single from the album, "I Can't Do That Anymore," was written by country music artist Alan Jackson.

In the spring of 1996 Hill began the Spontaneous Combustion Tour with country singer Tim McGraw. At that time Hill had recently become engaged to her former producer, Scott Hendricks, and McGraw had recently broken an engagement. McGraw and Hill were quickly attracted to each other and Hill broke her engagement so that she and McGraw could begin dating. The pair became engaged on the tour and married on October 6, 1996.⁷ They have three daughters together: Gracie Katherine (b. 1997), Maggie Elizabeth (b. 1998) and Audrey Caroline (b. 2001). Since their marriage, Hill and McGraw have strived to never be apart for more than three consecutive days.²

1998 – 2004: Career diversification

Family focus

After the release of It Matters to Me, Hill took a three-year break from recording to give herself a rest from four years of touring and to begin a family with McGraw. During her break, she joined forces with her husband for their first duet, "It's Your Love".¹ The song stayed at number one for six weeks⁴ and won awards from both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. Hill has remarked that sometimes when they perform the song together, " it [doesn't] feel like anybody else was really watching."¹

Pop music crossover

She reentered the music business with 1998's Faith.¹ The album showcased her progression toward a more mainstream, pop-oriented sound, although it retained some country sound. "This Kiss" became a number one country hit, and was the first of her singles to place on the pop charts, peaking at number seven. More than six million copies of the album were sold. The album also delivered several other hits including another duet with McGraw, "Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me", "Let Me Let Go" and "The Secret Of Life".⁴

To follow up this new found success Hill immediately released Breathe, which debuted at the top of the Billboard Country and all genre charts, ahead of albums by Mariah Carey and Savage Garden.⁹ Although the album had few overt country sounds, it "complement[ed] her vocal strengths."¹⁰ For the first time, the album consisted solely of songs about love and did not venture into the more somber territory that her previous albums had touched.¹⁰ The title track, "Breathe", reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.⁹ "The Way You Love Me" hit the top ten as well, topping out at number six on the charts, and became one of the longest running singles in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 (57 weeks).^{citation needed} The album won Hill three Grammy Awards including Best Country Album, Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for Let's Make Love featuring Tim McGraw and Best Country Female Vocal Performance for "Breathe".¹¹ It also marked a step away from her girl-next-door image, as the videos and promotional pictures all portrayed a much sexier image. Breathe has sold almost 10 million copies worldwide.¹²

Philanthropy

Hill used her 1999 tour to support a national children's book drive. Fans who donated books at one of her concerts were entered into a drawing to meet her personally after the show.¹³ The effort resulted in the donation of 35,000 children's books, which were distributed to hospitals, schools, libraries, and daycare centers in 40 cities across the United States.¹⁴

TV, cinema, magazines, and the pop charts

2000 was an especially busy year for Hill. Besides a successful tour with her husband, Hill was featured in a CBS television special, VH1's Behind the Music, VH1 Divas 2000, and the Lifetime cable channel's Intimate Portraits series.⁹ She signed an endorsement deal with CoverGirl makeup,⁴ performed at the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards, appeared on the cover of numerous magazines, and performed the national anthem at the Super Bowl.⁹ Hill was also named to Mr. Blackwell's 10-best dressed women of 2000, the only singer listed among actresses and other celebrities. Hill and McGraw also embarked on their first Soul2Soul tour the "Soul2Soul Tour 2000".¹⁵

Musically, in 2000 Hill recorded a song for the movie Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas The song also appeared on the pop and country charts. Hill's success on the pop charts disturbed some country music insiders, who questioned whether she was trying to dismiss her country roots and move into the pop genre. Despite the grumbling, Hill won the CMA Female Vocalist of The Year Award, and in her acceptance speech announced, "I love this business and I love this industry...and my heart is here."⁹

In 2001, Hill recorded a song for the Pearl Harbor soundtrack. "There You'll Be" also appeared on the album There You'll Be: The Best Of Faith Hill, an international greatest hits album. The album featured some dance mixes of "Piece Of My Heart," "Let Me Let Go," "The Way You Love Me" and "Breathe."

In 2002, Hill released her new album with a more pop-oriented sound, Cry. The album "spotlight[ed] her impressive set of pipes", but also marked the completion of her "transformation into a pop diva", containing few nods to her country roots. Though the album debuted at number one on Billboard magazine's pop and country album charts,⁴ and Hill made her debut as musical guest on Saturday Night Live, the album's singles (including the title track "Cry", written and originally performed by Angie Aparo) received much less radio airplay than her previous smashes.¹⁶ The album however, did win a Grammy Award and 3.7 million copies have been sold worldwide.¹¹

Faith Hill's 2002 single "Baby You Belong" off her Cry album was used as the theme song for the movie Lilo & Stitch. The music video featured clips from the movie as well as performance clips, It was released and well received in Asia.

Acting career

Hill was also interested in branching out into acting. Although she was rumored to have won a part in Mel Gibson's We Were Soldiers, she did not actually appear in the movie.¹⁷ Her movie debut came in the summer of 2004, when Hill co-starred with Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick and Glenn Close in director Frank Oz's remake of the 1975 thriller The Stepford Wives.¹⁸ However, the movie was savaged by critics¹⁹²⁰²¹ and flopped at the box office,²² and Hill has not made another acting appearance since.

2005 – 2006: Back to country roots

Faith Hill singing in a tribute concert for America's armed forces for ABC's Good Morning America

In 2005, Faith Hill returned with her new country album, Fireflies. The CD debuted on top of the Billboard Country and all genre album charts, placing her among only a handful of artists to have three consecutive albums debut at number one on both charts.²³ The debut single, "Mississippi Girl", became Hill's highest-debuting single. The song was written specifically for her by John Rich (of Big and Rich) and Adam Shoenfield of MuzikMafia, and tells the abbreviated story of her life. Hill recorded two other songs by Rich, "Sunshine and Summertime" and "Like We Never Loved at All", both of which became successful singles.²⁴ The title track, "Stealing Kisses" and "If You Ask" were written by artist Lori McKenna and also appear on McKenna's albums. The album marked a return to Hill's country roots and succeeded in reestablishing her place on country radio.²⁵

Her focus changed to charitable endeavors in 2005. In the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina, Hill and her husband, who was raised in Louisiana, joined groups taking supplies to Gulfport, Mississippi. The two also hosted several charity concerts to benefit those who were displaced by the storm.²⁶ Later in the year the couple established the Neighbor's Keeper Foundation, which provides funding for community charities to assist with basic humanitarian services in the event of a natural disaster or for desperate personal circumstances.

After a six-year break from touring following the birth of her youngest daughter,² in 2006 Hill and husband Tim McGraw embarked on their Soul2Soul II Tour 2006. The tour became the highest grossing country music tour ever with a gross of $90 million.²⁷³ It was named "Major Tour of the Year" by the prestigious Pollstar Magazine, beating out such heavyweights as Madonna and the Rolling Stones. In a special gesture, the couple donated all of the profits from their performance in New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina relief.²⁸

2007 – present: The Hits and Joy to the World

In 2007, Hill started work on her first domestic greatest hits package, titled The Hits, which was released on October 2. The Hits features two new songs, "Lost" and "Red Umbrella", plus a live version of the song "Stronger," taken from the Soul2Soul 2007 tour. The album also features hits covering her entire career from 1993–2005. Included with The Hits is a DVD of 11 of Hill's music videos. The album has sold 265,000 copies in the US.

Hill also recorded a duet called "Sleeping with the Telephone" for Reba McEntire's Duets album, released on September 18, 2007. She's also featured on husband Tim McGraw's 2007 album Let It Go. She sings two duets with him, "I Need You" and "Shotgun Rider". Both songs were sung at the couple's critically acclaimed Soul2Soul II Tour 2006. She and Tim also did an encore of their Soul2Soul II Tour; Soul2Soul 2007 began in June and ran through August. The song I Need You has been nominated twice at the 2008 Grammy Awards for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals and Best Country Song. The show took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 10, 2008 but the song didn't win.

In 2007 Faith Hill took over as the signature voice of NFL on NBC's Sunday Night Football, singing the theme song about which producer Fred Gaudelli had this to say:

²⁹

Hill also sang the theme for Sunday Night Football that airs on the NBC network. The song is called "Waiting All Week For Sunday Night". She will be heard on Aretha Franklin's upcoming album, A Woman Falling Out of Love, planned to be released in 2009.

Annie Lennox is working with Faith Hill and twenty-two other female artists to raise the awareness of the transmission of HIV to unborn children in Africa. "Sing", which Hill collaborated on, was released on World Aids Day on December 1, 2007, when Lennox appeared at the next Nelson Mandela 46664 concert in South Africa.

About releasing a duets album with husband Tim McGraw, she later stated that they have other projects.

Hill finished recording her Christmas album, titled Joy to the World. At the 2008 CMA Music Festival, fan club members had a chance to listen to the new album. The album was released September 30, 2008 and the first single is "A Baby Changes Everything". Joy to the World hit the number 1 spot in Canada and 6 on the US Country charts

On September 28 2008, Faith Hill re-entered the UK singles chart with her 2001 hit 'There You'll Be'. The song climbed to number 10 after an auditionee sang the song on the UK televison show X Factor. It is reported that the song had been downloaded over 100,000 times on various websites since the performance, thus propelling the single to the number 10 position.^{citation needed} In 2001 the song reached number 3 on the UK singles chart.

Faith Hill has also been busy working on her 7th studio album set for release in 2009

Discography

Awards

References

Further reading

• Brown, Jim, and Susan Sparrow. Faith Hill & Tim McGraw: Soul 2 Soul. Quarry Music Books, 2002. ISBN 1550822934
• Gray, Scott. Perfect Harmony: the Faith Hill & Tim McGraw Story. 1st ed. Ballantine Books, 1999. ISBN 0345434129

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Faith Hill

• Official website
• Faith Hill at the Internet Movie Database
• Faith Hill at People.com