Lady Antebellum is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2006. It is composed of Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals), Dave Haywood (background vocals, guitar, mandolin) and Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals). The group made its debut in 2007 as guest vocalists on Jim Brickman's single "Never Alone", before signing to Capitol Records Nashville and releasing "Love Don't Live Here". The song, which peaked at #3 on the Hot Country Songs charts in May 2008, served as the lead-off single to the group's self-titled debut album. Certified gold in the US, the album also includes the singles "Lookin' for a Good Time" and "I Run to You", the latter of which became their first Number One in July 2009. Lady Antebellum has been awarded Top New Duo or Group by the Academy of Country Music and New Artist of the Year by the Country Music Association, and nominated for two Grammy Awards at the 51st Grammy Awards.

History

Lady Antebellum was formed in 2006 in the city of Nashville, Tennessee by Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood and Hilary Scott. Hillary Scott is the daughter of 1990s country music artist Linda Davis, while Charles Kelley (who had previously recorded two solo pop albums) is the brother of pop artist Josh Kelley. Charles moved to Nashville in mid-2005 from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he had been working construction with his brother John. Trying to become a successful solo country artist, Charles convinced his old middle-school classmate, Haywood, to move to Nashville from Georgia in 2006 so they could write music together. Shortly thereafter, Kelley recognized Scott from the networking site Myspace, and they started to talk at a Nashville music club and invited Scott to join him and Haywood in the new group, which assumed the name Lady Antebellum. The trio then began performing at local venues in Nashville before being signed in July 2007 to a recording contract with Capitol Records Nashville.

Debut album

Shortly after their signing to the label, adult contemporary artist Jim Brickman chose the trio to sing on his 2007 single "Never Alone," which reached #14 on the Billboard adult contemporary charts. In mid-2007, Lady Antebellum also wrote a song for the MTV reality television series The Hills.

Their solo debut single "Love Don't Live Here" was released in September of that year, with a music video for the song following in December. This song was the lead-off single to the band's self-titled debut album. Released on April 15, 2008, Lady Antebellum was produced by Paul Worley along with Victoria Shaw, a Nashville songwriter and former solo artist. "Love Don't Live Here" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The album itself was the first album by a new duo or group to debut at Number One on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts.

A second single, "Lookin' for a Good Time", was issued in June 2008 and just peaked at #11 in December. In addition, Lady Antebellum was signed as an opening act on Martina McBride's Waking Up Laughing Tour in 2008.[8] Lady Antebellum also contributed the song "I Was Here" to the AT&T Team USA Soundtrack, a song which peaked at #24 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 based on downloads. In December 2008, their rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" peaked at #3 on the same chart.

Their third official single, "I Run to You", was released in January 2009. It eventually became the trio's first Number One in July 2009.

On February 6, 2009, their debut album was certified gold by the RIAA for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States. It has so far sold over 600,000 copies to date.

Haywood and Kelley co-wrote labelmate Luke Bryan's 2009 single "Do I", on which Scott also sings backing vocals. This song is the first single from Bryan's upcoming second studio album.

Second album

In August 2009, the group released their fourth single, "Need You Now", which debuted at #50 on the Hot Country Songs chart for the week of August 29th, 2009. It is the lead-off single to their upcoming second-studio album, which is slated for release sometime in November 2009.

Lady Antebellum has been nominated for two CMA Awards, including Vocal Group Of The Year and Single Of The Year for their #1 hit I Run To You.

Awards & Nominations

The trio won the Academy of Country Music's Top New Duo or Group award in 2008, as well as New Artist of the Year from the Country Music Association. They also received a Best New Artist nomination at the 51st Grammy Awards, while "Love Don't Live Here" received a Grammy nomination for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the same ceremony.