Most people remember Kellie Pickler as being the southern charmer on season five of "American Idol." Pickler made it up to the Top Six and signed with 19 recordings and BNA Records. Since then, Pickler has produced three albums: "Small Town Girl," "Kellie Pickler" and her newest album, "100 Proof."
"100 Proof" was released Jan. 24. For this album, she said that she wanted to go back to her roots. According to USA Today, Kellie said, "This is just going to be Kellie, like it or leave it. I don't expect people to like me or like my music. I want them to, but I cannot make them. If I can't be me, then I don't want to do it."
This redefining CD starts off with "Where's Tammy Wynette." The song sounds like an old country tune that opens up with the head-turning line of "I stay torn between killin' him and lovin' him." In this song, she is seeking advice from Wynette about how to run a household while still holding on to her man. The next song, "Unlock That Honky Tonk" is a fun song that can get everyone pumped for a weekend of going out and partying. It's filled with banjos, guitars and a great beat.
The CD slows back down for "Stop Cheatin' On Me" and "Long as I Never See You Again." These two songs go hand in hand. "Stop Cheatin' On Me" is a song that circles around the girl telling her man that he better stop cheating on her or she will start cheating on him. Then it seems like she comes to her senses in "Long as I Never See You Again," a song in which she talks about a relationship ending and getting over the heartbreak.
These two are followed by the single on the album, "Tough." It seems that Pickler wants to let the world know that, despite what you may think from looking at her, she is tough. This could be due to the fact that when she was growing up she had to deal with her mother leaving her and her father going to jail for assault after being hooked on drugs and alcohol. This part of her life attributes to two other songs on her album as well.
These two ballets are "The Letter (to Daddy)" and "Mother's Day." In "The Letter (to Daddy)," she lets her dad know that she is proud of him for getting over his alcohol and drug problem. She also lets him know that even when he was drinking, she knew he loved her. It is a touching song and so is "Mother's Day." which begins talking about how she dreads Mother's Day and how she wishes she could "skip a day to Monday." Without her mother, she was never able to celebrate this day and she wishes she could have. Now, she looks forward to the day when she has children of her own who "could go to town buy me a card [that] says 'I love you' inside a heart." Overall, I feel this CD was a good attempt at getting a new sound. However, for the fans that are used to hearing more of a pop sound, they may be turned off by "100 Proof." Regardless, if they are able to give the CD a chance, I think it can only attribute another image and a more honest idea of who Kellie Pickler truly is.
