FAITH HILL

'Audrey Faith Perry McGraw', known professionally by her first married name 'Faith Hill' (born September 21, 1967), is an American country singer, known for her commercial success as well as her marriage to fellow country singer Tim McGraw. Hill's "soulful and rasping voice" and talent for picking songs have helped her to sell over 30 million records and accumulate 11 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. In 2001 she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by ''Ladies Home Journal''.

Contents

Biography

Early life

1993 – 1997: Country success

1998 – 2004: Pop crossover

2005 – 2006: Back to country roots

2006 CMA Awards controversy

Present

Discography

References

Further reading

External links

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 raised their two (biological) sons and Hill in a very Christian environment.^[1]
Hill's vocal talent was apparent early, and she had her first public performance, a 4-H luncheon, when she was seven. By the time she was a teenager, Hill was a regular performer at area churches, even those not in her own Baptist denomination.^[2] At seventeen, Hill formed a band that played in local rodeos. She briefly attended college, 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. After a stint selling t-shirts, Hill became a secretary at a music publishing firm.
Apart from her quest for entry into the music industry, Hill also began working towards 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. Two years later she began a search for her natural mother, whom she eventually met and with whom she still corresponds.^[3]
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.

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 #1 position for four consecutive weeks when "Wild One" managed the feat in 1994.^[5] Her version of Erma Franklin's "Piece of My Heart", also went to the top of the country charts in 1994, although rock fans drew unflattering comparisons to Janis Joplin's cover. The album sold a total of 3 million copies.
Shortly after the release of her album, Hill found her marriage falling apart. She and Dan Hill divorced in 1994.
The recording of Faith's second album was delayed by surgery to repair a busted 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 this album also sold over 3 million copies. 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. 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.

1998 – 2004: Pop crossover

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". The song stayed at Number 1 for six weeks 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."
She reentered the music business with 1998's ''Faith''.^[6] The album moved her closer towards a mainstream, pop-oriented sound, although it retained some country sound. "This Kiss" became a #1 country hit, and was the first of her singles to place on the pop charts, peaking at #7. The album sold over six million copies and delivered more hits including another duet with McGraw, "Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me", "Let Me Let Go" and "The Secret Of Life".
To follow up this new found success Hill immediately released ''Breathe'', which debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard Country and all genre charts, ahead of albums by Mariah Carey and Savage Garden. Although the album had few overt country sounds, it "complement[ed] her vocal strengths."^[7] 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. The title track, "Breathe", reached Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "The Way You Love Me" hit the top ten as well (#6), and became one of the longest running singles in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 (57 weeks). 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.. 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.^[8]
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.^[9] 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.^[10]
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'', ''Divas 2000''m, and the Lifetime cable channel's ''Intimate Portraits'' series. She signed an endorsement deal with CoverGirl makeup., performed at the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards, appeared on the cover of numerous magazine, and performed the national anthem at the Super Bowl. 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".^[11]
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."^[12]
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 ''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 #1 on Billboard magazine's pop and country album charts, 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.^[13] The album however, did win a Grammy Award and has sold over 3 million copies worldwide.^[14]
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.
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.^[15] 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''.^[16]

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 at Number 1 on the Billboard Country and all genre albums charts, placing her among only a handful of artists to have 3 consecutive albums debut at number 1 on both charts.^[17] 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.^[18] The album marked a return to Hill's country roots and succeeded in reestablishing her place on country radio.^[19]
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.^[20] 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, 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.^[21][22] It was named "Major Tour of the Year" by the prestigous 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.^[23]

2006 CMA Awards controversy

In November 2006, Hill made entertainment news headlines when she appeared to react angrily to losing the Female Vocalist of the Year award to Carrie Underwood at the CMA Awards. Hill, who was backstage at the time, could be seen pacing in anticipation and throwing both hands in the air as if she had won, and then mouthing "What!?" into the camera and then stepping away from the camera after Underwood's name was called.^[24] Hill claimed that her reaction was a joke, saying in a statement, "The idea that I would act disrespectful towards a fellow musician is unimaginable to me. For this to become a focus of attention, given the talent gathered, is utterly ridiculous. Carrie is a talented and deserving female vocalist of the year."^[25] She later called Underwood to congratulate her and to clear up any misconceptions between the two singers.^[26] Underwood has stated in public that she believes Hill meant no ill-will, and that although she did not believe Hill needed to apologize, her immediate attempt to make amends elevated Underwood's respect for her. Some fans, especially those of Underwood, remain unconvinced and believe that Hill was in fact upset at Underwood's win.^[27]

Present

In 2007, Hill started work on her first domestic greatest hits package, titled ''The Hits'', set to be released October 2. Rumored track lists have been posted over the internet per various websites, such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com, but none have yet been confirmed on Hill's website. ''The Hits'' will feature two new songs, "Lost" (the current single) and "Red Umbrella" (to be released on September 13). The album will also feature hits covering her entire career from 1993-2005.
Hill will be heard on Aretha Franklin's upcoming album ''A Woman Falling Out of Love'', planned to be released later this year. She has also recorded a duet called "Sleeping with the Telephone" for Reba McEntire's upcoming '' album, scheduled to released on September 18. Hill is also featured on husband Tim McGraw's new 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 2006 Soul2Soul II Tour 2006. She and Tim are doing an encore of their Soul2Soul II Tour. Soul2Soul 2007 began in June and will run through September.
Hill was recently asked to sing the theme for Sunday Night Football that airs on the NBC network. The song is called "Waiting All Week For Sunday Night". You can see the video and hear the song on September 6 when the first NFL game is played, where Hill will sing a free concert along with Kelly Clarkson and John Mellencamp during the pregame show.

Discography

References

1. Interview with Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
2. Faith Hill on music, junk food and poetry
3. Faith Hill Biography (1967-)
4. Faith Hill
5. A Leap of Faith
6. Faith Hill
7. Album Review
8. About Faith
9. Hill Performs By the Book
10. A Bit of "Faith" Brought In A Lot Of Books
11. Hill Makes Another List
12. Faith Prevails
13. Tracking the Downloading Revolution
14. Grammy Award Winners
15. "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young"
16. Act of Faith
17. Faith Hill's New Album Debuts at No. 1
18. Faith Hill Releases ''Fireflies''
19. Faith - Top of the Hill
20. Faith Hill, Tim McGraw Blast 'Humiliating' Katrina Cleanup
21. Tim McGraw & Faith Hill
22. Tim, Faith set tour mark
23. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert to benefit Katrina relief
24. Faith Hill Reaction Makes Headlines
25. Faith Hill says CMA freakout just a joke
26. Hill gets backup from fellow singers
27. Carrie Underwood: On Faith Hill and Paying Dues

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

★ Official website

★ Official myspace

★ Faith Hill music, videos, photos and more at Country Music Television

★ Southern Belle - Fansite

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★ Liberal Country Fan Covers Faith's music and liberal political activism.

★ Country Music website Website with Info on Faith Hill