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Jessica Andrews
Background information
Birth name	Jessica Danielle Andrews
Born	December 29, 1983 (1983-12-29) (age 24)
Origin	Huntingdon, Tennessee, USA
Genre(s)	Country
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1999-present
Label(s)	DreamWorks Nashville Carolwood
Associated acts	Marcel Bret Michaels

Jessica Danielle Andrews (born December 29, 1983 in Huntingdon, Tennessee¹) is an American country music singer. At age 15 in mid-1999, she made her debut on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts with the single "I Will Be There for You", from her debut album Heart Shaped World, released in 1999 on DreamWorks Records Nashville.

Andrews saw her biggest chart success in 2001 with the song "Who I Am", a #1 country hit and the title track to her second studio album, which was certified gold in the United States. A third album, Now was released in 2003 to lower sales, while a fourth album (tentatively titled Ain't That Life) was never released due to DreamWorks' closure. In late 2008, Andrews signed to Carolwood Records, an imprint of Lyric Street Records.

Early life

Jessica Andrews was born in Huntingdon, Tennessee to parents Jessie and Vicki Andrews.² At the age of seven, a bone was growing through her spinal cord, a condition that required surgery. She had a 50/50 chance of coming out of it paralyzed.² Andrews learned her passion for singing in the fourth grade. Andrews planned on dancing in her school's talent show, but her sister convinced her to sing Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" instead.¹³ At 11, she put her first band together.³ Meanwhile, after someone sent a song of her singing to producer Byron Gallimore,² Andrews signed with DreamWorks Records Nashville and soon began working on her first album. Prior to its release, she begin opening for Faith Hill on her Fall 1998 tour, as well as for Tim McGraw (also produced by Gallimore) for his New Year's Eve concert.²

Career

Heart Shaped World

At the age of 15, Andrews released her debut album, Heart Shaped World. Sensitive to her age, she and Gallimore recorded 50 songs before settling on the twleve that appear on the albulm.² Serving as its debut single was "I Will Be There for You", which reached #28 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts in 1999. In March of that year, she also performed the song on an episode of the soap opera Another World; ⁴ One month later, she made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry.⁵ Also in 2000, she toured with Trisha Yearwood.⁶ Heart Shaped World also produced two more Top 40 country singles in "You Go First (Do You Wanna Kiss)" and "Unbreakable Heart", although the fourth single ("I Do Now") failed to reach Top 40. The album itself peaked at #24 on the Top Country Albums charts. Andrews was also featured on the premiere episode of On the Verge, a television series on CMT which followed the careers of up-and-coming country artists.⁷ On May 3, 2000, Andrews was invited to sing "Unbreakable Heart" at the ACM Awards, where she was nominated for Top New Female Vocalist, along with Julie Reeves and Chalee Tennison.⁶

Who I Am

Who I Am was the title of Andrews' second album, released in 2001. Andrews, who was seventeen years old when Who I Am was recorded, described the album as a more mature effort than Heart Shaped World, because it focused more on the emotions that come with growing up.⁸ Serving as the album's lead-off single, "Who I Am" became Andrews' only Number One (and only Top Ten) hit on the country music charts, in addition to peaking at #28 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts. In a 2001 interview, Andrews explained that she recorded the song (which was written by Brett James and Troy Verges⁹) because she felt that its lyrics were especially fitting to her own life: "Everything is so true in that song, except that my grandmother's name is not Rosemary. It's about believing in yourself and being supported by those around you. No matter how many mistakes you make, your friends and family will be there for you."⁸ Also included on the album was Andrews' first songwriting credit in the track "Good Friend to Me", which she co-wrote with Annie Roboff and Bekka Bramlett.⁸

Andrews spent 2001 on tour with Billy Gilman to help promote her second album and its lead-off single;⁸ she would later tour with Tim McGraw as well.¹⁰ The success of "Who I Am" also earned Andrews a Top New Female Vocalist award from the Academy of Country Music, while the album itself received RIAA gold certification for sales of 500,000 copies only four weeks after its release.⁹ However, its second and third singles ("Helplessly, Hopelessly" and "Karma") peaked at #31 and #47, respectively, on the country charts.

Now and Ain't That Life

	Good Time Andrews's last single from 2004; it's about wanting to get away with girlfriends for the weekend. This clip features the chorus.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Now was the title of Andrews' third studio album, also released on DreamWorks Nashville. Its lead-off single, "There's More to Me Than You", reached Top 20 on the country singles charts, while the second (and final) single, "Good Time", failed to make Top 40. The album featured more of an emphasis on ballads than her first two albums did.¹⁰ Also in 2003, she befriended and began dating songwriter Marcel, co-writer of "There's More to Me Than You".¹⁰

In late 2004, Andrews charted a duet with Bret Michaels of the rock band Poison, entitled "All I Ever Needed". The song was Michaels' only country hit, peaking at #45. Shortly afterward, Andrews began work on her fourth studio album, tentatively titled Ain't That Life. Its lead-off single, "The Marrying Kind", failed to chart, while "Summer Girl", the second single, peaked at #46 in mid-2005. DreamWorks' recording division was dissolved shortly afterward, however, and Ain't That Life was not released.

2008-present

In October 2008, Andrews signed with Lyric Street Records's subsidiary imprint, Carolwood Records. Her first single for the label, "Everything", was released on December 23, 2008. Andrews co-wrote this song with Marcel. Andrews preformed a duet with Richard Marx, "Wild Horses", which was released on his 2008 album Sundown.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Guest singles

References

External links

• Official site