Rissi Palmer (born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American country music artist. One of the few African-American singers in her genre, Palmer debuted in 2007 with the single "Country Girl", which made her the first African-American woman to chart a country song since Dona Mason in 1987. "Country Girl" peaked at #54 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and served as the lead-off single to her self-titled debut album, which also produced the #59 hit "Hold on to Me". Also in 2008, Palmer covered "No Air", an R&B hit originally performed by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown.

Biography

Palmer was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She lived in the suburb of Sewickley until moving with her family to Eureka, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, at the age of 12 Her parents were natives of Georgia. Palmer has said her mother, who died when Palmer was seven, "was a huge Patsy Cline fan", while her father loved musicians such as Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Chaka Khan, and Santana. Palmer said she knew from a young age that she wanted to sing. As a child, she sang on a Mickey Mouse Club-like local television show called Team 11. At age 16, she performed country music at the Arkansas State Fair.
When she was 19, R&B producers James "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Lewis offered her a deal on their Flyte Tyme Records. Palmer rejected the deal because she said they wanted to turn her "twangy" country style into a "pop/soul hybrid." As she said, "I love R&B and urban music, but it wasn't what I wanted to do. I knew I wouldn't be happy doing that." After that, Palmer sang jingles for Barbie commercials, performed on the Dance Fever television show, and competed on Star Search, all while trying in vain for seven years to land a Nashville recording contract.

2006-2007

In 2006, Starbucks Entertainment distributed a four-song EP that put Palmer among the top 5 best-selling country artists on iTunes. Palmer was also featured in a 2005 Country Music Television documentary about African-Americans and country music.
Palmer's debut album, Rissi Palmer, was released on October 23, 2007, by 1720 Entertainment. Palmer co-wrote nine of the 12 tracks. She is also the featured artist on Yahoo! Music's "The New Now," which highlights talented newcomers, from October 17 through November 21, 2007.

2008-present

In 2008, Palmer released her third single, "No Air", a cover by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown. The song debuted at #58 and eventually reached #47, becoming her first Top 50 single on the Hot Country Songs chart. The single planned to be included on a reissue of her debut self-titled album, however, the album was never reissued. Also after "No Air" fell from the charts, she released a christmas single, "Grown Up Christmas List", however, the song failed to enter the country charts.