Brokenheartsville

Background:

Three times Grammy Award nominated American country music singer and songwriter Joe Nichols rose to fame with the success of “Man With a Memory” (2002), his debut album with Universal South Records. Nichols also earned an Academy of Country Music Award and his Grammy nominations for his work on the album, which spawned such country hits as “The Impossible” (#1 on Radio & Records' country charts) and “Brokenheartsville” (#1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs charts). The rising star scored his next Billboard #1 hit with the single “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” which is from his 2005 album “III.”

His most recent album, “Real Things,” was released in August 2007 and had the Top 25 hit with the single “Another Side Of You.”

While performing at the Grand Ole Opry in 2005, Nichols met Anna Nicole Smith, who soon became a fan of his. A Smith impersonator had a featured part in the video for the song “Cool to be a Fool.” At Smith's funeral, Nichols sang “I'll Wait for You” and “Wings of a Dove.”

Rogers’ Boy

Childhood and Family:

Joe Edward Nichols was born on November 26, 1976, in Rogers, Arkansas, to a truck driver father who also played the bass guitar and sang. Joe grew up watching his father perform at VFW halls, an experience that ignited young Joe's interest in music. In addition to Joe's father, his grandfather and uncles also played classic country music.

The Impossible

Career:

“People like me grew up listening to stuff from a long time ago and they haven't forgotten the sound, the style. The songs don't have to be about anything unrealistic right now. They can be, for example, about driving around in a boat on a lake. The subject matter may not be about riding horses and shooting guns, but the sound of classic country, it still deals with the homeland, the heartland, even if that's in the form of today's suburban life.” Joe Nichols

Born to a family with a strong country musical influence, Joe Nichols started playing bass and singing at an early age. In high school, Nichols plunged himself in the classic country music preferred by his grandfather, uncles and father, and performed with his family at local VFW halls. During this period, the future country star idolized musicians like Randy Travis and Alan Jackson. Armed with a strong will, Nichols signed his first record deal at age 19 with Intersound Records. Before the independent label folded, he had released a self-titled debut album.

Subsequently, Nichols lived the life of a struggling musician in Nashville for a few years. He was forced to take on odd jobs, including moving furniture, installing cable TV and selling steaks door to door and low paying gigs to make ends meet. In 1999, a friend introduced Nichols to noted Nashville guitarist and aspiring producer Brent Rowan, who had a significant role in helping to establish Nichols' career. Their collaboration attracted the attention of Tony Brown and Tim DuBoi, two of Music Row's most important executives who were in the process of founding an associated venture label with Universal. As a result, “Man With A Memory,” Nichols' album with Rowan as producer, became Universal South Records' first release.

Released on July 23, 2002, “Man With A Memory” collected three Grammy nominations in the category of Best Country Album, Best Country Male Vocal Performance, and Best Country Song for the album's lead single “The Impossible” (2002), which peaked at #1 on Radio & Records' country charts and #3 on the Billboard country charts. The follow up single, “Brokenheartsville,” (2003) was even more successful. Its video was named by Country Music

Television as the year's Breakthrough Video. Nichols received an Academy of Country Music award for Top New Male Vocalist of 2003 and was named Best New Artist of 2003 by the readers of Radio & Records. Previously, Billboard Magazine listed him as the 2002 Top New Country Artist with “The Impossible” labeled as the No. 10 most played song of the year.

Following his commercial breakthrough, Nichols went on to be a regular performer at the Grand Ole Opry. A few days after the death of his father in 2002, he performed country legend Merle Haggard's classic “Footlights” at the Opry. The same year he won his CMA Award, Nichols also served as an opening act for Alan Jackson's 2003 tour. He then released “Revelation,” a Billboard # 3 country album, in June 2004 and a holiday album called “A Traditional Christmas” three months later in September.

In 2005, Nichols released the hit “III,” which is his fourth non-Christmas studio album. The album's first song, “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” was certified gold and marked his second single to be #1 on the Billboard charts. The same year, he joined superstar Toby Keith's “Throwdown” Tour. They two were reunited the following year for Keith's “Hookin' Up And Hanging Out” arena tour.

Nichols released his newest album, “Real Things,” on August 21, 2007. The lead single, “Another Side Of You,” was a Top 25 hit.

“I love making records that reflect on Merle Haggard or George Strait, George Jones, Don Williams. The core of this album is very much in tune with what I normally do. There's just a couple of new paintings in the gallery that are different and it's just an expansion. I wanna see if I can do it.” Joe Nichols on his album “Real Things”

Awards:

• Academy of Country Music: Top New Male Vocalist, 2003