Jennifer Odessa Nettles (born September 12, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer. Nettles is the lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush, and prior to this she fronted the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

-based bands Soul Miner's Daughter and Jennifer Nettles Band. She charted as a duet partner on the country version of rock band

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

's 2006 single " Who Says You Can't Go Home", a number-one hit on the ''Billboard'' country chart.Billboard websit
Billboard Music Charts - Jennifer Nettles
retrieved February 24, 2009. Throughout her career, she has acquired numerous accolades, including three

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

, four

Country Music Association Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...

, and an

American Music Award The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

for her work both as a soloist and as one half of the duo Sugarland. Nettles was a judge on '' Go-Big Show'' (2021–22).

Personal life

Nettles was born and raised in the small town of Douglas, Georgia, United States, graduating from Coffee High School and

Agnes Scott College Agnes Scott College is a Private university, private Women's Colleges in the Southern United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergra ...

Decatur, Georgia Decatur () is a city and the county seat of DeKalb County, Georgia, DeKalb County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, th ...

. Nettles married Todd Van Sickle in 1998; the couple divorced in 2007. On November 26, 2011, Nettles married her boyfriend of two years, Justin Miller, in a sunset ceremony at Blackberry Farm in

East Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 coun ...

.On June 18, 2012, they announced they were expecting their first child in November 2012. Their son was born in December 2012. Nettles and Miller were divorced in 2018.

Musical beginnings

Nettles began performing at school assemblies, her Southern Baptist church, and in community theater. She was also a member of Georgia 4-H's Clovers & Company performing arts group from 1986 to 1993. Nettles studied Spanish and Anthropology at

in Decatur, Georgia, and graduated in 1997. While a student there, Nettles and Cory Jones (who at the time was studying

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

) formed the group Soul Miner's Daughter. Performing as both an acoustic duo and with a band, they released two albums: ''The Sacred and Profane'' in 1996 and ''Hallelujah'' in 1998, both of which were composed of songs written collaboratively by Jones and Nettles. Soul Miner's Daughter was invited to perform at the Atlanta installment of

Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride (CEO), Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during ...

in 1999.Ask Men website
Jennifer Nettles.
Retrieved February 24, 2009. In 1999, she formed the Jennifer Nettles Band, with which she released three studio albums and two live albums. The band, which in addition to Nettles included Brad Sikes (drums), Scott Nicholson (piano), Wesley Lupold (bass), and Mike Cebulski (percussion), was selected the grand prize winner from more than 2000 bands in "The Big Deal $100,000 Music Search" presented by Mars Music.

Sugarland

In 2003, Nettles teamed up with

Kristen Hall Kristen Hall (born October 24, 1962) is an American folk rock singer-songwriter and a founding member of the country music group Sugarland. She had a solo career and released several albums, formed the country band Sugarland, and more recently ...

and Kristian Bush to form Sugarland. In 2006, Hall left the group and Nettles and Bush continued on as a duo releasing '' Enjoy the Ride'' in November 2006. Their third album, titled '' Love on the Inside'', was released on July 22, 2008. Regarding the trio's collaboration, she said:

We really wanted to get out of where we had all been as artists and move beyond that to something bigger. Consequently all the songs reflect that; 'Fly Away,' 'Baby Girl,' all of those songs - you speak to the human condition and write what you know in your life.Cronin, Peter
The Road To Sugarland.
Great American Country TV website. September 5, 2006. Retrieved February 23, 2009.

Sugarland was nominated for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

award in the

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...

category in 2006. Although they did not win the award, Nettles and Bush performed for the awards show and Nettles presented both a Lifetime Achievement Award to Merle Haggard and the award for Best Country Group. A duet performance with rock band

, " Who Says You Can't Go Home", reached No. 7 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. The video for the song won a CMT Music Award in 2006 for Collaborative Video Of The Year. In February 2007, Nettles and Bon Jovi won a

for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.Grammy Awards website
49th Grammy Awards Winners List.
(See Category 39.) Retrieved February 24, 2009. In an interview on

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

with Martha MacCallum, Nettles expressed interest in appearing in a Broadway play, stating in particular that she would like to play the role of Elphaba in '' Wicked''. In early December 2008, Sugarland received three Grammy Award nominations and performed on the 51st Annual Grammy Awards show on February 8, 2009. They won awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group.Grammy Awards website
51st Annual Grammy Awards Winners List.
(See Category 38 and Category 41.) Retrieved February 9, 2009. On January 18, 2009, Nettles performed at the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, singing

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

's "Shower the People" with

and

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

. On February 11, 2009, Sugarland received two nominations from the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

for Top Vocal Duo and Vocal Event of the Year for "Life in a Northern Town". During the broadcast of the April 5, 2009 awards show, Sugarland was presented with the Vocal Duo of the Year award, ending Brooks & Dunn's nine-year run. Nettles also received a Milestone award, presented to her by

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

. ABC broadcast the first CMA Country Christmas, hosted by Nettles, on November 29, 2010. Nettles and Sugarland partner Kristian Bush kicked off the evening with their rendition of "Winter Wonderland", backed by

Little Big Town Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has had the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook. Fa ...

. The pair returned to the stage later in the program to perform the hymn "Come, O Come Emmanuel", just before the "Jingle Bell Rock" group grande finale of the 90-minute special. Until 2016, Nettles was the sole host of Country Christmas but was replaced by

for the 2017 show. After a five-year hiatus while Nettles and Bush recorded solo projects, Sugarland officially reunited in 2017 at the 51st Annual Country Music Association Awards and announced that they were working on new music together. The lead single off their sixth studio album Bigger, “ Still the Same" was released on December 21, 2017.

Duets and solo career

In 2009, Jennifer Nettles performed at the

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to Culture of the United States, American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in ...

for

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

and a second time in 2011 for

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

. In 2012, Nettles appeared as a judge on the ABC singing competition series '' Duets'' alongside

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

and Robin Thicke. The show was cancelled after one season. Nettles announced in May 2013 that she would begin working on a solo album. Her first solo single, " That Girl", was released in August. Nettles co-wrote the song with Butch Walker, and

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

produced it. The album, also titled '' That Girl'', was released on January 14, 2014. On June 4, 2014, Nettles performed " All of Me" with

and

Hunter Hayes Hunter Easton Hayes (born September 9, 1991) is an American multi-genre singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is proficient at more than 30 instruments. Hayes released his Hunter Hayes (album), self-titled debut alb ...

at the CMT Music Awards. Jennifer Nettles on stage in March 2017

In July 2015, Nettles parted ways with Mercury Nashville. Nettles then signed with

Big Machine Label Group Big Machine Records is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executiv ...

. Nettles announced that she would be going on the " Playing With Fire Tour" with Ryan Kindler and Brandy Clark as her opening acts. The tour was then extended by CMT and promoted as "CMT Presents Jennifer Nettles with 2016 Next Women of Country Tour" with Brandy Clark and special guest Lindsay Ell and Tara Thompson for over 30 dates across the country starting in January 2016. Nettles then released a music video for her song "Sugar", she would be performing this song, which is off her upcoming album, at the 89th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the Domino Sugar float. Nettles then released the first official single, off her upcoming album with Big Machine, " Unlove You" which she debuted on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...

'' on November 24. In March 2017, Nettles made her international solo debut at the C2C: Country to Country festival. For six years in a row she has hosted the ''CMA Country Christmas'' on ABC. In 2018 Jennifer Nettles duetted with Josh Groban on his "Bridges" and "Bridges Live" albums with the Groban-penned song "99 Years". In December 2019 Nettles ended her solo deal with Big Machine Records but her duo Sugarland signed an exclusive deal with Big Machine. To coincide with the sixteenth anniversary of the 9/11 attack, Nettles released a song called "King of the City", which tells the story of an immigrant who lost his life during the tragedy. Of the track, Nettles said "it has been so long since I started writing this song, but I was only able to finish it in the last year. I was inspired by the political tensions in our country right now. I want to humanize the immigrant story as an American story, and allow people a different narrative from what they might, or might not, be seeing on the news or in their communities".

Acting

Nettles made her acting debut in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television movie, ''

Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors ''Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors'' is a 2015 American television film, made-for-television drama (film and television), drama film based on the life of Dolly Parton, written by Pamela K. Long and directed by Stephen Herek. The film premiered ...

'' portraying

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

's mother. It premiered on December 10, 2015. She reprised her role in the sequel '' Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love'' which premiered on November 30, 2016. In February 2015, Nettles joined the Broadway cast of ''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

'', where she played the role of Roxie Hart for a limited engagement. In April 2016, she had a role on the

WGN America WGN America was an American subscription television network that operated from November 9, 1978 to February 28, 2021. The service was originally uplinked to satellite by United Video Inc. as a national feed of Chicago independent station WGN-T ...

series '' Underground''. Her role was as a wife and mother who became a mental patient. Since 2019, Nettles has portrayed Aimee-Leigh Gemstone, the deceased matriarch (featured in flashbacks) of a fictional Southern evangelical family in HBO’s dark comedy series '' The Righteous Gemstones''. She also co-starred in the drama '' Harriet'', about abolitionist

Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, – March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. After escaping slavery, Tubman made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including her family and friends, us ...

, playing Eliza Brodess. The film was directed by

Kasi Lemmons Kasi Lemmons (; born Karen Lemmons, February 24, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter, and actress. She made her directorial debut with ''Eve's Bayou'' (1997), followed by ''The Caveman's Valentine'' (2001), ''Talk to Me (2007 film), ...

. She played the lead role of Jenna in the musical ''

Waitress Waiting staff ( BrE), waiters () / waitresses (), or servers (AmE) are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attending to customers by supplying them with food and drink as requested. Waiting staff ...

'' on Broadway from October 19 to November 25, 2021. Nettles plays Miranda, the mother of a young girl named Katherine, who is possessed by a demon after performing a ''

séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French language, French word for "session", from the Old French , "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general and mundane: one ma ...

'', in the 2023 film '' The Exorcist: Believer''. Nettles plays Maryanne, the ex-wife of Hub Halloran, in the 2025 Amazon Prime series '' The Bondsman''.

Activism

Nettles has lent her time and talent to support various non-profit organizations. Nettles has been a longtime supporter of the Shalom foundation. She raised more than $120,000 for the foundation in 2007. In 2008, she launched Common Thread, a series of musical events enabling artists to come together to share music and raise money for their favorite charities. The first three Common Thread concerts included performances by Nettles, Sugarland partner Kristian Bush,

Emily Saliers Emily Ann Saliers (born July 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the musical duo Indigo Girls. Saliers sings soprano and plays lead guitar as well as banjo, piano, mandolin, ukulele, bouzouki and many other instruments. Ea ...

, and

Amos Lee Amos Lee (born Ryan Anthony Massaro, June 22, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter whose musical style encompasses folk music, folk, rock music, rock, and Soul music, soul. Lee has recorded five albums on Blue Note Records and has toured as ...

and raised funds for the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

, American Liver Foundation,

Honor the Earth Honor the Earth is a non-profit organization dedicated to Indigenous peoples, Indigenous environmental justice. The organization's mission is to protect the lifeways and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples around the globe. The organization is ded ...

, and Intercultural Family Services. Following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Nettles and Sugarland partner Bush sang on the remake of

We Are the World "We Are the World" is a charity single recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones for the album '' We Are the World''. With sales in excess of 20 milli ...

as part of Artists for Haiti. In February 2012, Nettles was one of a group of celebrities who walked down a catwalk in red dresses for the 'Heart Truth Red Dress Collection' show, part of

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning seven to nine days when international Fashion design, fashion collections are shown to buyers, the pres ...

. She wore a David Meister dress. In November 2019, Nettles attended the CMA Awards wearing a Christian Siriano design with a hot-pink train. The train had a hand-painted graffiti painting by Alice Mizrahi and a message stating "play our xpletiverecords; Please and Thank You", and the backside said "equal play". Nettles' outfit was in protest of country music radio stations not giving equal play time to female artists. At the 2020 CMT Music Awards, she was recognized for her activism in the fight for equal play with the first CMT Equal Play award.

Discography

Studio demos

Studio albums

Extended plays

Live albums

Solo singles

Guest singles

Other charted songs

Music videos

Awards

* 1999

Acoustic Talent Search winner, Soul Miner's Daughter * 2001 1st Annual Independent Music Awards Regional Poll in Atlanta for "Bad Girl's Lament" * 2005

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

, Sugarland wins Favorite Breakthrough Artist * 2006

, Sugarland wins Top New Duo or Vocal Group * 2006 CMT Collaborative Video of the Year, "Who Says You Can't Go Home" * 2007

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, "Who Says You Can't Go Home" * 2007

, Sugarland wins Vocal Duo Of the YearCMA website
Artist Detail: Sugarland.
Retrieved February 24, 2009. * 2008

, Sugarland wins Vocal Duo Of the Year * 2008

, Song of the Year, "Stay" (songwriter) * 2008

Song of the Year, "Stay" (songwriter)CMA website
Artist Detail: Jennifer Nettles.
Retrieved February 24, 2009. * 2009

Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group for "Stay" * 2009

Best Country Song for "Stay" (songwriter) * 2009

, Milestone award; Sugarland wins Vocal Duo of the Year * 2009

, Sugarland wins Vocal Duo Of the Year * 2010

, Sugarland wins Vocal Duo Of the Year * 2011

, Sugarland wins Vocal Duo of the Year * 2011

, Sugarland wins Vocal Duo Of the Year * 2020 CMT Equal Play Award from the CMT Music Awards

Filmography

Film

Television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

References

External links

*
Jennifer Nettles CMT.com Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nettles, Jennifer 1974 births Agnes Scott College alumni American acoustic guitarists 21st-century American actresses American contraltos American country guitarists American women country singers American country singer-songwriters Big Machine Records artists Country musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) Grammy Award winners Independent Music Awards winners Living people Mercury Records artists People from Douglas, Georgia Sugarland members Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American singer-songwriters Concord Records artists Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Activists from Georgia (U.S. state)