This Saturday is the Sugarland concert at Rupp Arena. One of the openers is none other than Kellie Pickler, the former American Idol contestant, and up and coming country star. Hit the jump for a great interview The Boot had with Kellie which will give you some insight into her day-to-day life as well as some interesting facts.

As with all shows that come to Rupp, I like to shine light on the opening acts so that you can learn more about them and have a better understanding of their music before seeing them. I have seen too many opening acts that I only later began to appreciate.

Below is an excellent feature that The Boot had with Kellie Pickler at the beginning of the month. They talk about her inspiration, influences, new songs and a variety of other topics.
Kellie Pickler Exudes Confidence on Sophomore CD – Beville Darden (The Boot)

Even though she looks like a million dollars, Kellie Pickler is glad her interview with The Boot isn’t on camera. The country star strolls into our studios straight from an appearance on ‘The Today Show,’ eager to de-glam. After changing into jeans and a t-shirt, she curls up on our couch barefooted, sucking on a cherry red popsicle as she excitedly talks about her new, self-titled album.

“I feel like it’s gonna grow legs and walk,” she jokes, staring at a copy of her own CD, as if it’s surreal.

Pickler, who co-wrote five songs on her impressive sophomore effort, is beaming with pride and anxious to get feedback on the new music. She says there’s “really no comparison” between it and her first album, ‘Small Town Girl,’ which was the very first CD released of all the contestants on her season of ‘American Idol.’

“The first album was so extremely rushed,” she tells The Boot. “I was in the middle of the ‘American Idol’ tour, and my producer would fly all over the country to wherever I was that night. And I’d come off the stage, get in the car and run to the nearest studio … Everyone can’t believe it when I tell them this, but the songs I did write on the first album — ‘I Wonder’ and ‘Red High Heels’ — I actually wrote over the phone!”

With the new CD, Pickler had two crucial elements she didn’t have with her first: time and confidence. She switched producers, teamed up with some of Nashville’s most celebrated songwriters and made an album she says is much more indicative of who she is, personally and professionally.

“I was able to make it exactly the way that I want it. I’ve had two years to play around,” she says. “I had time to make sure I was in love with every song, and I was involved in every aspect of this album.”

The petite beauty also insists she’s done a lot of growing up in two years. She’s been through very public heartache, both in her family life and love life, but it’s weathering those storms that has made her a stronger singer and songwriter. The Kellie Pickler in front of us today has come a long way from the 19-year-old Sonic waitress from Albemarle, N.C., who almost walked out of her ‘Idol’ audition, thinking she wasn’t good enough.

“I’ve learned so much about the music business and about myself,” she says of her post ‘Idol’ years. “If I could go back and talk to the girl who auditioned for ‘American Idol,’ I’d tell her to be more confident … I was just so nervous and insecure. So that was a big obstacle for me.”

When we asked Pickler her favorite song on the new album, it was hard for her to pick just one. So we got the story behind several of the album’s standouts. Read on below, as we ask her about four of her co-writes and one track that’s already burning up the charts.

‘Best Days of Your Life’ is such a great kiss-off song. Does the real-life guy in the song know it’s about him?

He does. It’s so funny. Taylor (Swift) and I wrote it last year when we were on tour with Brad (Paisley). And I did an interview with one of the radio stations that was syndicated, so he just happened to hear it. And I was talking about how we wrote it about an ex who I’d just gone through a bad breakup with. So it was obvious who it was about, because I haven’t dated that many people! So he called me, and he wasn’t happy. So that’s why everyone should go through life and treat others the way they want to be treated. You never know, that kid you picked on in school, made fun of and shoved in lockers — he’s gonna be the CEO of a company that you’re applying for. The tables always turn. You reap what you sow, and karma is a bitch! [laughs]

What’s the story behind ‘Somebody to Love Me’?

I was in a really dark place where everything in my career was going great — I’d just gotten a standing ovation at the CMAs, my album was doing well, I had just finished touring with Brad Paisley … So everything was going great in my career, but everything in my personal life was just crumbling. So I wrote Aimee (Mayo) an email about how lonely I was: ‘I have everything a girl could ask for, but I’m so miserable. I hate my life. I don’t like who I am. I’m not happy. I’m lonely. I just want somebody to love me.’ Then I hit ’send,’ and it was like 2 or 3 in the morning and she wrote right back and said, ‘We have to write that!’ So it’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written. I think it’s a standout on the album, because it’s so universal. We all have that one thing in common: we all want to be loved and accepted for being ourselves.

Hopefully it’s not him you’re singing about in ‘One Last Time’ — a song about getting intimate with an ex.

That song is just so different from anything I’ve ever written. It opens a real door that people might not have known about me. It’s a very intimate song, and a lot of people relate to it. Everyone at some time has been in a relationship that they knew wasn’t good for them, and they’ve tried the whole break up and get back together, break up and get back together — and you’ve cried, and you love each other one day and hate each other the next. You know it’s not right, so just end it with a bang. [laughs]

You’ve followed ‘Red High Heels’ with ‘Going Out in Style,’ which also mentions your greatest love: shoes.

I know! Each album should really be named after a shoe designer. I’m a shoe whore! I don’t even know how many I have. It’s so funny, because I’m in the process of moving, and I have all these shoes in big Tupperware things, and I don’t even know what I have and what I don’t have. So I went shoe shopping yesterday at Saks, and I’m like, ‘I don’t know what I have and what I don’t have.’ So she (my stylist, Renee) will tell me what I have and don’t have. She has the best memory — she knows everything I have.

What has been the fan response to the current single, ‘Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful’?

The feedback has been amazing. It’s good to have a song that makes you feel good, that’s positive and uplifting.

Below is an interview that The Boot did that accompanied the above feature. As part of a special they do with other artists, they asked Kellie exactly 11 questions.
11 Questions With Kellie Pickler – Beville Darden (The Boot)

What celebrity would you not want to be right now?

I just wouldn’t want to be running for president right now. And nobody else would want me to be either! [laughs] Because my first rule would be: ‘All shoes half off, everyday!’

Do you have any celebrity crushes?

No, I don’t have crushes on people I don’t know. And the celebrities I do know, I don’t want to date! [laughs] I think it’s weird to be obsessed with somebody who doesn’t even know you exist. There are a lot of celebrity men that are very attractive, but I don’t have crushes on them! Like George Clooney — he’d be my pick for sexiest Hollywood man. But I don’t have a crush on him!

What’s the craziest rumor that you’ve heard about yourself?

My sister was on her way to class, and the radio station in her area reported that I was pregnant. And I’m like, ‘No, that would be impossible!’ [laughs] And one rumor that was really insane was that my whole family situation that was exposed on ‘Idol’ was a lie — that we made it up for television. I wish it was a lie!

You wrote a song on your new CD with Taylor Swift. What’s one thing about her that fans don’t know?

Nothing! She’s an open book. Everybody knows she’s just a sweet girl who loves her fans. She called me the other night and said, ‘All these kids are outside screaming. I’ll feel horrible if I don’t go out and sign stuff!’ She goes out of her way, and she’s a great friend. I don’t know anything that other people don’t know … oh, other than she’s actually a man. [laughs] Her hair isn’t real. No, I’m kidding.

If you could duet with any artist of a different genre, who would it be?

Stevie Wonder — that would be ideal. He’s a legend, and so talented. I actually got to meet him on ‘Idol,’ and when he walks into a room, it’s all about him. You just cannot get over his presence — he’s so amazing. It’s like angels flying over him, it’s incredible! I remember the first time I met him, I was in tears.

What’s your opinion on ‘Idol’ contestants who bash the show?

Well, people who do that don’t end up making it very far! I can’t stand it when people are sassy to the judges. If you can’t take constructive criticism, then you are in the wrong business! And for someone to come off of ‘American Idol’ and not to be appreciative — chances are they would never be doing what they’d be doing now. I guarantee you I’d still be back in Abermarle working at Sonic. ‘Idol’ opens doors. It’s just selfish not to thank them.

When it comes to guys, what are your turn-ons and turn-offs?

Personality is everything for me. And I have to have somebody who respects my schedule and my life and can deal with that. And a big turn-off is a bad tipper. If we go to a restaurant and someone is a bad tipper, I’ll never go on a date with him again.

What’s your idea of the perfect date with your boyfriend?

I’m so lazy. I’m on the road all the time working, so when I’m at home, my perfect date is just laying on the couch!

Do you have any guilty pleasures?

I love ‘Chelsea Lately.’ I love her (Chelsea Handler’s) books, and she has the only gossip show I really like. And I already have a gift in mind if I ever go to her show — I’ll bring her a bottle of Grey Goose. [laughs]

Have you ever been the victim of a tour prank?

We were doing a cover of ‘9 to 5,’ and Brad’s (Paisley) whole band came out and sabotaged us. One of the guys was dressed like a pimp, and he made it look like I was working ‘9 to 5′ on a street corner — like I’m hooker! He kept going, ‘Where’s my money?’ And then the biggest guy in the band came out dressed in drag, with red stilettos and a blond wig — he was supposed to be me.

Do you have any funny fan stories?

We get a lot of fans who get tattoos. I’ll autograph their hand or their arm or leg, and then they’ll come back to another show, and it will be tattooed. I should start charging! [laughs]