Britt Nicole

Britt Nicole

Nicole performing in Knoxville, TN in 2008.
Background information
Birth name Brittany Nicole Waddell
Born August 2, 1984
Origin Kannapolis, North Carolina, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
Years active 2004–present
Labels 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 mainly charted as a Christian pop artist, but in 2012 she released her mainstream debut single, "Gold" and, in 2013, "Ready or Not". She is signed to Sparrow and Capitol Records.

Early life

Britt Nicole was born on August 2, 1984. Nicole began singing at the age of three in her 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 talented dancer, taking ballet, jazz, hip hop, and lyrical. At South Rowan High School, she was a member of the school's advanced choir group, and performed with them at Carnegie Hall in New York. Nicole was also a member of Duke University's Brightleaf Music Workshop.

Career

2004–06: Follow the Call and Brittany Waddell

Nicole turned down a scholarship from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a full-time music career. She felt that God was telling her to concentrate on singing instead of going to college. In January 10, 2003 released her debut album, Follow the Call, an independent release as Brittany Waddell.[1] In 2004, she signed a management deal with Vertical Entertainment, and then signed a development deal with Word Records. Also in 2004 she released her debut extended play, Brittany Waddell.[2] In 2006 signed with Sparrow Records and her song "Indestructible" was featured on the WOW Next 2007 compilation CD, and she performed at Creation East/West, Spirit West Coast Monterey, ALIVE 11 festival, and Celebrate Freedom. She was featured on Christian hip-hop group GRITS' 2006 album, Redemption, on the songs "Right Back" and "Soul Cry", both under the name Brittany Waddell.[3]

2007–08: Say It and Holiday Trio

On May 22, 2007 she released her debut album Say It. It peaked at No. 40 on Billboard's Christian Albums chart.[4] The debut single from the album, "You", was released on March 27, 2007.[5] It hit the Top 10 on the R&R magazine chart.[6] It was the 12th most played song on Christian Hit Radio stations in 2007, according to R&R magazine.[7] It also peaked at No. 6 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs, her highest charting song to date.[8] Nicole was the opening act on the 2007 Winter Jam Tour with Sanctus Real, Hawk Nelson, Jeremy Camp, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Newsong.[9] Nicole's song "Sunshine Girl" was featured on MTV's teen reality show Newport Harbor: The Real Orange County on September 5, 2007.[10]

Nicole at the Dove Awards of 2008.

Nicole's first music video, for the song "Believe", premiered on the Gospel Music Channel on September 22, 2007. The song was then released as the album's second single on October 30, 2007.[11] It was the 21st most-played song of 2008 on Christian Pop radio stations according to R&R magazine's Christian CHR chart.[12] On November 20, 2007, Nicole released her first EP titled Holiday Trio.[13] The EP was 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 US single in early 2008. The song peaked at No. 11 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs.[8] In 2007 and 2008, "Holiday" and "When She Cries" were both released as UK singles, while "Don't Worry Now" was released as a single in Australia.[14]

2009–11: The Lost Get Found and Acoustic

In 2009, Nicole released a new song "The Lost Get Found" to promote her second album by the same name. The song debuted in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart, at No. 20, and has since peaked at No. 8.[15] It peaked at No. 1 on Christian radio stations.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18] The same month, the music video for her song "Holiday" (from Say It) was posted on YouTube.[19]

Her second US single from The Lost Get Found, "Walk on the Water", peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart and No. 1 on Christian radio.[16] It was promoted on the NBC television show The Biggest Loser. Meanwhile, the song "Headphones" was released as her second single from The Lost Get Found in the UK. It peaked at No. 2 on the UK Christian CHR chart.[20] On January 1, 2010, a compilation album titled Acoustic Playlist: Bold was released under StarSong Records. It featured an acoustic version of Nicole's single "Believe".[21] Her second EP Acoustic was released August 24, 2010 to stores and online. It includes five acoustic versions of previous songs and a brand new song, "Found By You". The album debuted at No. 22 on the Hot Christian Albums chart.[4] 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.[16]

In early 2010, "Welcome to the Show" was released as a single in the UK. It peaked at No. 4 on the country's Christian CHR chart. Later, in the middle of the year, the song "Safe" was released as a single in the UK. It peaked at No. 3 on the country's Christian CHR chart.[20] A music video for "Headphones" was released on November 9, 2010.[22] In December 2010, "Have Your Way" was released as a single in the UK. It peaked at No. 4 on the UK's Christian CHR chart.[20]

2012–present: Gold

On December 21, 2011, Nicole announced the release of her third 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 pop radio for eight weeks in a row and also peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart. The album, titled Gold, was released on March 26, 2012.[23] The album debuted at No. 1 on the Hot Christian albums chart and No. 41 on the Billboard 200, the highest charting album on that chart for the singer. The singles "Stand" and "Breakthrough" were released to United States and United Kingdom Christian radio, respectively, in the fall of 2012. "Stand" peaked at No. 11 on US Christian pop radio and "Breakthrough" peaked at No. 3 on UK Christian Pop radio. In December 2012, she released two Christmas music videos, "Jingle Bell Rock" and "O Holy Night".

Nicole announced that she signed to Capitol Records and released "Gold" as her debut single for mainstream pop radio on December 4, 2012.[24] A re-release of her album, Gold, was released on February 26, 2013 to mainstream pop markets.[25] On January 11, 2013, she released a Gold EP with the radio version of "Gold", two remixes of "Gold" and the "Gold" music video.[26] Nicole was featured on Tenth Avenue North's Christmas single "We Three Kings", which along with her own song "O Come All Ye Faithful" are included on WOW Christmas Blue released September 24, 2013.

In 2014, her song "The Sun Is Rising" was featured in the film, The Other Woman. The anticipated release date for her first remix album is March 17, 2015.[27]

Personal life

Nicole's parents divorced when she was seven. This was mentioned in her song "Don't Worry Now"[28] and "All This Time". In July 2012, she married Joshua Crosby.[29][30] On February 5, 2013, Nicole announced that she was pregnant.[31] Britt Nicole gave birth to a baby girl, Ella Brave Crosby [32] on July 24, 2013.[33] On September 3, 2014, Nicole and her husband announced that she was pregnant with their second child.[34] On February 8, 2015, at 4:33 A.M. Nicole gave birth to her son Adin Jerusalem Crosby who weighed 8 pounds.[35]

Discography

Concert tours

Awards

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2011 Dove Awards Female Vocalist of the Year Herself Nominated
2013 Grammy Award Best Contemporary Christian Music Album Gold Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "Follow the Call - Brittany Waddell". iTunes. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Brittany Waddell - Brittany Waddell". iTunes. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Britt Nicole - Say It". EMICMG Distribution. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://www.billboard.com/artist/297531/britt+nicole/chart?f=310
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ Weekend 22 Official website. Retrieved July 26, 2007
  7. ↑ 2007 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs, R&R magazine. Retrieved January 6, 2008
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://www.billboard.com/artist/297531/britt+nicole/chart?f=355
  9. ↑ "Winter Jam 2007 Tour Spectacular!". Winter Jam 2007 Tour Spectacular!. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
  10. ↑ Sparrow Records Artist Britt Nicole Song Featured On MTV's Newport Harbor Show, August 6, 2007
  11. ↑
  12. ↑ 2008 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs, R&R magazine. Retrieved January 15, 2009
  13. ↑
  14. ↑ "Tell Someone They're Worth More Than Gold". Britt Nicole. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Christian Songs". Billboard.com. April 21, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "EMI CMG Distribution". EMI CMG Distribution. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Connecting to the iTunes Store". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  18. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/297531/britt+nicole/chart
  19. ↑ "Britt Nicole Holiday Official Video posted by Britt Nicole brittnicole tangle com". YouTube. August 16, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 "Cross Rhythms Top Ten". Crossrhythms.co.uk. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  21. ↑
  22. ↑
  23. ↑ Britt web team. "Story behind Britt's new single "All This Time"". www.brittnicole.com. BrittNicole.com. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  24. ↑ "Top 40/M Future Releases | Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates". Allaccess.com. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Music News, November 2012: CAPITOL RECORDS TO RELEASE POP SINGER/SONGWRITER BRITT NICOLE'S ALBUM GOLD ON FEBRUARY 26TH". Jesusfreakhideout.com. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  26. ↑ "Gold (Remixes) - EP". iTunes. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  27. ↑ Capitol Christian Music Group. "TBD - Remix Album". Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  28. ↑ Behind the Music segment for "All This Time" by Britt Nicole. Broadcast January 2012 on Air 1.
  29. ↑ "Twitter / itsbrittnicole: So excited to announce that ...". Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  30. ↑ "Twitter / charlesweet: what an amazing new season. ...". Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  31. ↑ "Hey friends…". Facebook. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  32. ↑ "Britt Nicole - Being a mom is the BEST thing I have ever...". Facebook. 2013-11-23. Retrieved 2014-04-07.
  33. ↑ "My Husband and I are so happy to share with you that our baby girl was born yesterday July 24. She is the love of our life! A gift from God!". July 24, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Britt Nicole Expecting Baby No. 2". New Release Tuesday. September 3, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Britt Nicole Has Second Baby". Retrieved 11 February 2015.

External links