Britt Nicole

Britt Nicole
Nicole at the Dove Awards of 2008
Background information
Birth name	Brittany Nicole Waddell
Born	(1984-08-02) August 2, 1984
Origin	Kannapolis, North Carolina, U.S.
Genres	CCM, pop, Christian rock, hip hop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2004–present
Labels	EMI CMG/Sparrow, Capitol
Website	www.brittnicole.com

Brittany Nicole Waddell (born August 2, 1984), better known by her stage name Britt Nicole, is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and recording artist. She has primarily charted as a Christian pop artist and her song "Gold" has charted on mainstream pop radio. She is signed to EMI CMG/Sparrow and Capitol Records.

Childhood

Britt Nicole was born on August 2, 1984. Nicole began singing at the age of three in her home church, Truth Temple of Kannapolis, North Carolina. She, along with her brother and cousin, eventually became involved with the church's daily program on Charlotte TV station WAXN. She was a very gifted dancer, taking ballet, jazz, hip hop, and lyrical. At South Rowan High School, she was a member of the school's advanced chorus group, and had the opportunity to perform with them at Carnegie Hall in New York. Nicole is also an alumna of Duke University's Brightleaf Music Workshop.

Career

Early career (2004–2006)

Nicole turned down a scholarship from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a full-time music career. She felt that God was calling her to concentrate on music instead of going to college. In 2004, she signed a management deal with Vertical Entertainment, and then signed a development deal with Word Records. Sparrow Records signed her in 2006, and her first album Say It was released on May 22, 2007. Britt Nicole was the opening act on the Winter Jam Tour with Sanctus Real, Hawk Nelson, Jeremy Camp, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Newsong.^[1]

Her song, "Indestructible", was featured on the WOW Next 2007 compilation CD, and her festival plans included Creation East/West, Spirit West Coast Monterey/Del Mar, and Celebrate Freedom. She was featured on Christian hip-hop group GRITS' 2006 release, Redemption, on the songs "Right Back" and "Soul Cry", both credited as Brittany Waddel.^[2] She also performed at the ALIVE 11 Festival in Mineral City, Ohio.

Say It, Holiday Trio (2007–2008)

Nicole performing in Knoxville, TN in 2008.

On May 22, 2007 she released her debut album Say It. It peaked at No. 40 on Billboard's Christian Albums ^[3]

The debut single from the album, "You", was released on March 27, 2007.^[4] It hit the Top 10 on the R&R magazine chart.^[5] It was the 12th most played song on Christian Hit Radio stations in 2007, according to R&R magazine.^[6] It also peaked at No. 6 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs, her highest charting song to date.^[7]

Britt Nicole's song "Sunshine Girl" was featured on MTV's teen reality show Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County on September 5, 2007.^[8]

Britt's first music video, for the song "Believe", premiered on the Gospel Music Channel on September 22, 2007. The song was later released as the album's second single on October 30, 2007.^[9] It was the 21st most-played song of 2008 on U.S. Contemporary Christian music radio stations according to R&R magazine's Christian CHR chart.^[10]

On November 20, 2007, Britt released her first extended play titled Holiday Trio.^[11] The EP Christmas-themed and was only released digitally. It featured her song "Holiday", plus two never before released songs; one is an original titled "Come What May", and the other is a cover song of the holiday hit "Last Christmas".

"Set the World On Fire" was released as Say It's third and final United States single in early 2008. The song peaked at No. 11 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs.^[7] In 2007 and 2008, "Holiday" and "When She Cries" were both released as UK singles, while "Don't Worry Now" was serviced to radio in Australia.^[12]

The Lost Get Found, Acoustic (2009–2011)

In 2009, Britt Nicole released her new song "The Lost Get Found" to promote her second album by the same name. The song debuted on the Top 20 of Billboard Hot Christian Songs, entered as No. 20, and has since peaked at No. 8.^[13] It peaked at No. 1 on Christian radio.^[14] The music video for the song was released as a single on iTunes on November 17, 2009. The single also included a remix and karaoke version of the track.^[15]

The Lost Get Found was released on August 11, 2009 and peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Christian Albums Chart and No. 62 on the Billboard 200.^[16] The same month, a music video for her song "Holiday" (from Say It) surfaced on the internet.^[17]

Her second United States single from The Lost Get Found, "Walk On The Water", peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs and No. 1 on Christian radio.^[14] It was further promoted on the NBC television show "The Biggest Loser". Overseas, the song "Headphones" was promoted as her second single in the UK. It peaked at No. 2 on the country's Christian CHR chart.^[18]

On January 1, 2010, a compilation titled Acoustic Playlist: Bold was released under StarSong Records. It featured an acoustic remix of Britt Nicole's single "Believe".^[19]

Her second extended play Acoustic was released August 24, 2010 to stores and digital outlets. It includes 5 acoustic versions of previous hits and a brand new song, "Found By You". The album debuted at No. 22 on the Hot Christian Albums chart.^[20] Her third single from The Lost Get Found, "Hanging On", was released in July to coincide with the release of the album. It peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart.^[14]

In early 2010, "Welcome to the Show" was released to radio stations in the UK. It peaked at No. 4 on the country's Christian CHR chart. Later, during the middle of the year, the song "Safe" was released to radio stations in the UK. It peaked at No. 3 on the country's Christian CHR chart.^[18] A music video for the song "Headphones" was released on November 9, 2010.^[21] In December 2010, "Have Your Way" was released to radio stations in the UK. It had peaked at No. 4 on the country's Christian CHR chart.^[18]

Gold (2012–present)

On December 21, 2011, Britt Nicole announced the release of her third studio album which was preceded by the January release of "All This Time", the album's lead single. It was the No. 1 song on Christian contemporary hit radio for eight continuous weeks and also peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart. The album, titled Gold, was released on March 26, 2012.^[22] The album debuted at No. 1 on the Hot Christian albums chart and No. 41 on the Billboard 200, a career high for the singer. The singles "Stand" and "Breakthrough" were released to United States and United Kingdom Christian radio, respectively, in the fall of 2012. The former peaked at No. 11 on US Christian contemporary hit radio and the latter peaked at No. 3 on UK Christian radio. In December 2012, she released two Christmas music videos, "Jingle Bell Rock" and "O Holy Night".

Nicole has announced that she is co-signed to Capitol Records and will release "Gold" as her debut mainstream single on December 4, 2012.^[23] A re-release of her album, Gold, was released on February 26, 2013 to mainstream markets.^[24] On January 11, 2013, she released a Gold EP with the radio version of "Gold", two remixes of "Gold" and the "Gold" music video.^[25]

Nicole was featured on Tenth Avenue North's Christmas single "We Three Kings", which along with her own "O Come All Ye Faithful" are included on WOW Christmas Blue released September 24, 2013.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Nicole's parents divorced when she was seven. This was also mentioned in her song "Don't Worry Now"^[26] and "All This Time".^{[citation needed]}

In July 2012, she married Joshua Crosby.^[27][28] On February 5, 2013, Nicole announced that she was pregnant.^[29] Britt Nicole gave birth to a baby girl, Ella Brave Crosby,^[30] on July 24, 2013.^[31]

Discography

• Say It (2007)
• The Lost Get Found (2009)
• Gold (2012)

Awards

References

External links

• Official website