NIKKI MCKIBBIN

'Nikki McKibbin'
(born 'Katherine Nicole McKibbin' on September 28, 1978 in Grand Prairie, Texas, U.S.) is an American rock music singer songwriter who finished third in the 2002 debut season of the reality television series ''American Idol''. Prior to ''American Idol'', McKibbin was one of the top twenty finalists in the first season of ''Popstars''.

Contents

Early life

American Idol

Post-''Idol'' career to Present

Performances on American Idol

Discography

Albums

Singles

Others

References

External links

Early life

Growing up, people would tease her for her rocker-chick style. After ''American Idol'', she remarked how she thought it was funny that she got praised for her originality on the show but made fun of it in Texas. After high school, she went to and graduated from cosmetology school. She also joined the business world and founded Angelfire Productions, a karaoke company, which she sold in 2005 to focus on her music career.^[1] She would often sing at the Dallas Coyote Ugly Bar.^[2]
She is a single-mother and has a son named Tristen. She had struggled with money before ''Idol'', and at one point had a career as a stripper.^[3]

American Idol

In 2002, Nikki auditioned for the show ''American Idol'', earning a spot in the finals. According to the ''American Idol'' archives, McKibbin was the first finalist to sing in a fixed rock style in the competition.

Post-''Idol'' career to Present

Immediately following her stint on ''American Idol'', McKibbin signed with 19 Management and RCA Records. They urged her to record a country album, but she was determined to stay true to her rock roots; she rejected the idea, saying that she was a "rocker, not a country singer." The creative differences resulted in no releasable recordings being produced.
In 2004, she appeared on the holiday CD ''Christmas In A Fishbowl'' with several other reality stars for Fishbowl.com.
In 2005, McKibbin appeared in several reality shows, including a special "Reality TV Stars" episode of the NBC series ''Fear Factor'', and the sports competition show ''Battle of the Network Reality Stars'' in which her team won. She also appeared in the E! Entertainment reality show ''Kill Reality'' which documented the filming of ''The Scorned'', a television movie with a cast comprised of reality television stars. McKibbin plays a singer in the film. The movie premiered October 31, 2005. After ''The Scorned'' McKibbin was accepted into the Screen Actors Guild.
McKibbin made an appearance in the band Rivethead's music video "You're So Cold".
In May 2005, McKibbin joined Dallas rock band Downside. They did several shows together including a sold out show at the Hard Rock Cafe in Dallas, but due to creative and personal differences Nikki left the band in September of the same year.
In 2005, it was announced that she was signed to Australian indie label Astral Records, with her rock-influenced album originally intended to be released in February 2006. Recording began with manager/producer Joe Canizarro in December 2005, starting with a cover of "To Be With You" by Mr. Big. The single "The Lie"/"To Be With You" and a limited edition behind-the-scenes DVD was made available from her official web site.
It was announced in Summer 2006 that McKibbin and Astral Records had decided to part ways and that she would be exclusively signed to Joe Canizarro's label Chenoa Records.
Her producers for her debut album include Canizarro (), Stephen Ferrera, who worked with Kelly Clarkson, and Chenoa Music recording artist Annica.
McKibbin's long-awaited debut album Unleashed is due out May 22 2007 per the latest blog on her MySpace. Also, fans can purchase "The Lie" on iTunes.
For her 2007 Tour to promote her album, McKibbin is working with Texas band Rivethead.^[4]

Performances on American Idol

★ "I Will Survive" (Gloria Gaynor) (Audition; Spring 2002)

★ "Unchained Melody" (The Righteous Brothers) (Pasadena Auditions; June 2002)

★ "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (Bonnie Tyler, 1983) (Semi-finals; July 2, 2002)

★ "Ben" (Michael Jackson, 1972) (Motown week; July 16, 2002) (Bottom 3)

★ "Piece of My Heart" (Janis Joplin, 1968) (1960s week; July 23, 2002)

★ "Heartbreaker" (Pat Benatar, 1979) (1970s week; July 30, 2002) (Bottom 3)

★ "Hard-Hearted Hannah" (Ella Fitzgerald) (Big band week; August 6, 2002) (Bottom 3)

★ "Always Something There to Remind Me" (Naked Eyes, 1983) (Love songs week; August 13, 2002) (Bottom 2)

★ "Mary Jane" (Alanis Morissette, 1995) (1980s & 1990s week; August 20, 2002) (Bottom 2)

★ "I'm the Only One" (Melissa Etheridge, 1993) (1980s & 1990s week; August 20, 2002) (Bottom 2)

★ "Black Velvet" (Alannah Myles, 1990) (Choice selections week; August 27, 2002) (Bottom 2;)

★ "Edge of Seventeen" (Stevie Nicks, 1982) (Choice selections week; August 27, 2002) (Bottom 2; voted off)

Discography

Albums

#''Unleashed'' (2007)

Singles

Year	Title	Album	Idol Waves online radio
'2006'	"To Be With You"	''The Lie (CD-DVD)''	8
'2006'	"The Lie"	''The Lie (CD-DVD)''	1 (4 weeks)
'2007'	"Naked Inside"	''The Lie (CD-DVD)''	4
'2007'	"Save What's Left of Me"	''Unleashed''	8

Others

#''American Idol: Greatest Moments'' (2002)
#''Christmas In A Fishbowl (2004)
#''I Saw You On Tv (2007)

References

1. http://www.foxesonidol.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?mode=1&article=article1804.art&page=1 ''FoxesonIdol.com Interview Dec. 12 2005''
2. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6493728/ ''Which Idol Singers can make it Nov. 22 2004''
3. http://www.steppinoutmagazine.com/10_23_02/html/interview.html ''Steppin Out Interview Oct. 23 2002''
4. http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2007/apr/02/rivethead-teams-iidoli-nikki-mckibbin ''Rivethead teams up with Idol Nikki McKibbin Apr 2 2007''

External links

★ Nikki McKibbin official site

★ "American Idol" profile of Nikki McKibbin

★

★ Nikki's Store on Burnlounge.com

★ Nikki's Music MySpace

★ An Interview by Foxes on Idol.com

★ An Interview by Steppin Out Magazine

★ An interview for the American Idol Tour

★ An Interview with MTV

★ "Former Idol Sticks to Her Hard Rockin Ways"

★ Nikki McKibbin "The Lie" Music Video