Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983 in Lindale, Texas) is a country singer-songwriter who gained fame as a finalist on the 2003 season of USA Network's talent competition Nashville Star.

Both of her parents are private investigators, but father Rick is also a country guitarist and songwriter. Lambert became seriously interested in country music after attending a Garth Brooks concert as a young girl, and soon began singing in talent contests under the tutelage of her father.

At 16, Miranda began appearing on the Johnny High Country Music Review in Arlington, Texas, the same show that helped launch the career of LeAnn Rimes. Miranda quickly landed a recording session in Nashville, but left the studio in tears after she became frustrated with the "pop" sound of music that was not her own. Upon returning to Texas, Miranda began writing songs and taking guitar lessons from her father.

When Miranda's aptitude for music became apparent, her parents encouraged her to aggressively pursue singing and acting opportunities. While still a high school student, Miranda made her professional singing debut and fronted the house band at the Reo Palm Isle Ballroom in Longview, Texas, a long-running venue that has showcased Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson.

Foregoing college, Miranda performed throughout Texas in 2001 and 2002. She finished first in the Texas auditions for Nashville Star and eventually placed third on the national competition.

Discography

On September 15, 2003, she signed with Sony records. She has since released three studio albums, 2005's Kerosene, 2007's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, 2009's Revolution and 2011's Four The Record; all four of which debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Kerosene,Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Revolution have been certified Platinum by the RIAA.

Miranda Lambert has release a total of fourteen singles, which includes five Top 20 hits; of these, Kerosene and Gunpowder & Lead have been certified Gold singles by the RIAA.

Awards and Critical Acclaim

In 2005, at the 40th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, Miranda won the Cover Girl Fresh Face of Country Music Award. In 2005, she was also nominated for the Country Music Association's Horizon Award and performed "Kerosene". Nashville Scene named Kerosene one of the best albums of 2005

Miranda was nominated for and won the "Album of the Year" award at the 2008 Academy of Country Music Awards for her latest album Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.