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Background information From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Miranda Leigh Lambert was born November 10, 1983, in Longview, Texas, and was raised in Lindale, Texas. She was named after her great-grandmother, Lucy Miranda. Her father, Rick Lambert, was a police officer who played in a country-rock group called Contraband in the 1970s. He later became a private investigator in partnership with Miranda's mother, Beverly. She has English, Irish and Native American ancestry.

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. Rick and Bev later became private detectives and even worked on the high profile case of the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. At the age of 6, Miranda began helping with some of the cases. After the oil crisis killed 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 presented legends such as Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson, and the place where Brooks & Dunn started out as the house band.

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 dad to teach her how to play guitar, so she could write her own songs.

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 debut album, titled "Kerosene".

The album comprised 12 songs, 11 of which she wrote or co-wrote. 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. 

Lambert's second album, "Crazy Ex­Girlfriend", was released on May 9, 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 highestcharting single, was written while she was taking a concealed 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 Cover Girl "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 (Academy of Country Music) Awards. At the 2008 ACM (Academy of Country Music) Awards, "Crazy ExGirlfriend" 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, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 85, based on 11 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".

Rolling Stone magazine praised the album saying, "Lambert remains country's most refreshing act, and not just because she makes firearms seem like a matter-of-fact female accessory." Entertainment Weekly said, "She's found stylistic shades of songwriters twice her age..." and the album is "...a portrait of an artist in full possession of her powers, and the best mainstream-country album so far this year." Boston Globe commented that “Revolution’’ is the sound of Miranda Lambert coming into her own." Slant magazine praised the album saying, "Miranda Lambert expands on her fascinating, fully realized artistic persona ..."

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."

2011-2013: «Four the Record» and the Pistol Annies

On April 4, 2011, during the taping of the Academy of Country Music's 'Girls' Night Out' television special in Las Vegas, Lambert debuted her new project, girl group Pistol Annies. The group consists of Lambert, Ashley Monroe, and Angaleena Presley. They released their single, "Hell on Heels", in May 2011, and released their debut album, "Hell on Heels", on August 23, 2011, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's country chart. Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker said the trio "is good enough to recall those transcendent moments of vocal harmony the Dixie Chicks used to hit every few months." Lambert's fourth studio album, "Four the Record", was released on November 1, 2011; her first album for RCA Nashville, after Sony Music Nashville announced a corporate restructuring. "Four the Record" produced five singles: "Baggage Claim", "Over You", "Fastest Girl in Town", "Mama's Broken Heart", and "All Kinds of Kinds". "Over You", which Lambert and Shelton cowrote, reached number 1 in early 2012. On February 8, 2012, Lambert made her acting debut on NBC's long-running legal drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in an episode titled "Father's Shadow". 

Lambert later told CMT News she was a big fan of the show: "I never wanted to act. I still don't. I don't want to be an actress. I just wanted to be on that show mainly so I could be a groupie [for their autographs]."

Late in 2012, Lambert appeared on Shelton's Christmas album "Cheers, It's Christmas", to which she contributed guest vocals on a version of "Jingle Bell Rock". The soundtrack was released on October 2, 2012. On October 23, 2012, Lambert and Dierks Bentley announced the co-headlined 33-show Locked & Reloaded Tour, beginning on January 17, 2013.

On May 7, 2013, a second Pistol Annies album, "Annie Up", was released. This album produced the group's first country chart entry with "Hush Hush". The Pistol Annies are also one of many acts featured on Blake Shelton's 2013 single "Boys 'Round Here", which went to number 1 on Country Airplay. They had previously accompanied Shelton on a rendition of "Blue Christmas" on "Cheers, It's Christmas".

2014-2015: «Platinum»

"Automatic," the lead single from Lambert's fifth studio album, "Platinum", was released on February 5, 2014, to praise from music critics. The album, containing 16 songs, was released on June 3, 2014. The album's second single, "Somethin' Bad", is a duet with Carrie Underwood and was debuted on the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on May 18.

The album's third single, "Little Red Wagon", was released to country radio on January 12, 2015. The album's fourth single, "Smokin' and Drinkin'" released to country radio on June 22, 2015.

2016-2018: «The Weight of These Wings» and third 'Pistol Annies' album

On July 18, 2016, Lambert released "Vice" to country radio and digital outlets. Written by Lambert, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, it's the first song released since Lambert's 2014 album, "Platinum".

In September, Lambert announced her sixth studio album, "The Weight of These Wings", which was released on November 18, 2016. She was selected as one of 30 artists to perform on Forever Country, a mash-up track of "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "On the Road Again" and "I Will Always Love You" which celebrates 50 years of the CMA Awards.

Shortly after the release of The Weight of These Wings, the Highway Vagabond Tour was announced and began on January 24, 2017. These were Lambert's first live shows since she was put on mandatory vocal rest and was forced to cancel her Keeper of the Flame Tour in 2016.

The tour visited the US, Canada and were her first solo shows in Europe, seeing her return to England, Ireland, Scotland and, for the first time, the Netherlands. After promotion and touring for The Weight of These Wings ended, the Pistol Annies reformed and released their third studio album Interstate Gospel on November 2, 2018, which subsequently reached number 1 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart.

2019: «Wildcard»

Lambert announced that the lead-off single from her upcoming seventh studio album will be "It All Comes Out in the Wash," which was released on July 18, 2019. The song was co-written by Lambert with Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, and Liz Rose ("Love Junkies") and produced by Jay Joyce, marking the first time she had worked with the producer.

The song was released alongside "Locomotive," another track intended for the upcoming album that she had previously debuted on the CMA Music Festival in June 2019. Two other tracks - "Mess with My Head" and "Bluebird" - were also previewed ahead of the album in August 2019.

Lambert's seventh studio album, Wildcard, was released on November 1, 2019. In promotion of the album, Lambert announced the 27-date Wildcard Tour, which is set to begin on January 16, 2020 and run through May 9, 2020.

In 2009, Lambert and two other singers, became the new faces of Cotton Inc.’s revived “The Touch, The Feel of Cotton” campaign. 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."

In December 2014, Lambert’s line of shoes and boots were released at DSW. 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.

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:

●Adoption drives - held by Lambert at her concerts, CMA music awards, and the Grand Ole Opry ●Fill the little red wagon - donation drives ●Special circumstances - emergency disaster relief or instances of hoarding ●Cause for the Paws - annual fundraising concerts ●Mutts Across America - provides funds and support to shelters in all 50 US states ●Ran's Animal Care Express - pet transports ●Mutt March - an annual 5k with proceeds going to MuttNation causes 

In 2017, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey's devastation, MuttNation rescued dozens of animals as a part of its emergency/natural disasters objective.

In 2014, Lambert opened Redemption Ranch, a shelter in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, her adopted home town where she lived with Shelton.

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. In April 2018, it was confirmed that Lambert and East had broken up months earlier after two years of dating.

Lambert started dating Turnpike Troubadours frontman, Evan Felker, in February 2018. His estranged wife, Staci, has alleged that he left her suddenly to be with Lambert. They broke up in August 2018.

On February 16, 2019, Lambert announced on social media that she married New York City Police Department Officer Brendan McLoughlin (photo) on January 26, 2019 in Davidson County, Tennessee. Lambert has nine tattoos of various objects and symbols, and the word "tumbleweed". In June 2019, she added a tattoo on her forearm for her marriage to McLoughlin.

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