Kellie Pickler’s sophomore album, Kellie Pickler debuts on the Billboard Hot 200 this week, selling 43, 000 copies according to Nielsen Soundscan. Interestingly, her 2006 album, Small Town Girl, debuted in the exact same spot (#9) at nearly the same time (10/30), but sold 79, 000. That’s nearly twice the number of units sold. So goes the music industry in the year 2008.
In other news, Kellie tells People magazine, in a story due to hit newsstands this Friday, that she battled a year-long depression. Kellie explains, “Everything in my professional life seemed great, but in my personal life, I was just crumbling.” She attributes her troubles to a tough breakup with her hockey player boyfriend, Jordin Tootoo, her recently paroled dad’s descent back into crime (he’s been returned to jail) and her long-absent mom’s re-emergence in the press.
She took anti-depressants, but had to stop taking them because the side-effects made her “crazy.”
Kellie attributes friendships with Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, and a new boyfriend–Nashville songwriter Kyle Jacobs–with getting her back on the right track. Writing songs for the new album also helped exercise those demons.
Nothing like a little drama to help goose those record sales! But then, Kellie’s career was launched on a soap opera, why stop now? Kellie Pickler = Drama r Us.
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