The Southern Drawl's Song of the Week goes to Rascal Flatts for "I Won't Let Go."
Be sure to click the link to listen to the song and see the music video, courtesy CMT.com
Photo Source: By Joltmanns (Own work by uploader: Janel) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
Everyone has a favorite JaneDear girl, at least that’s what every country radio station says anyway, often asking the audience which one they prefer? Well, Danelle Leverett is the one that graces the no. 7 spot in this series of country music’s sexiest women in the industry.
Before picking up the guitar and endearing herself to the country music world, Danelle Leverett was poised to be a sports junky. In fact, leading up to her time in high school, the JaneDear girl guitarist was an accomplished gymnast growing up in a family where sports was the big thing in the household, not music. That all changed when a pole vaulting accident pushed Leverett’s gymnastic activities to the back burner and had her looking at other aspirations.
While on the shelf, Leverett not only took on the guitar, but she also turned to songwriting as her new hobby. The path to her career as a JaneDear girl was well on its way. Leverett was winning songwriting competitions leading up to her college days and was actually signed to an independent record deal while still in college. Not being tempted by the fame and fortune ahead, Leverett stayed in school and graduated before moving to Nashville in hopes of making it big.
The country music capital would be where Leverett met fellow bandmate Susie Brown, instantly hitting it off and forming what is now a very popular up-and-coming group, the JaneDear girls. While the duo struggled to meet ends meet at first, that all changed when they met Big and Rich star, John Rich. Rich was so impressed with the girls’ talent that he helped them land a record deal with Warner Music Nashville. Obviously the rest is history. The JaneDear girls released their first single “Wildflower,” which ended up being a huge success -- welcoming the JaneDear girls to country music, and men to Danelle Leverett.
Why she’s sexy: Like Kellie Pickler, Danelle Leverett definitely has that girl next door feel to her. While the two are noticeably different in physique and style, each has their own way of drawing in the guys to their corner.
Danelle Leverett doesn’t have the body of a Kellie Pickler. That is in no way a slight against the JaneDear girl guitarist, who still offers a slender body that may lack in curves, but is still appealing nonetheless. She also breaks the blonde hair, bright eyes shtick that’s been rocking the list so far, showing that long wavy blonde hair and brown eyes are just as sexy as what the bright eyed women have to offer.
What makes Leverett so sexy, is her musical talent. Not only does she provide backup vocals to Susie Brown, but she also plays the guitar, the banjo and the harmonica. Watching her shred the axe, blonde hair waving around carelessly, long thin legs stomping the ground as she stakes claim to the stage -- is there anything hotter than that?
Danelle Leverett pretty much exemplifies the very definition of the total package in what it means to be sexy in country music. All of the women on this list have been gorgeous, that’s a given, but Leverett is gorgeous and her audience gets to see her rock out on that guitar she clearly knows how to play. While a thick southern drawl is sexy to hear in country music, it’s just as sexy, if not more, to see a woman sing and tear it up on the guitar -- something Danelle Leverett does every time you see the JaneDear girls play.
No woman on this list personifies the “southern belle” tag more than Kellie Pickler does. She was raised in a small town in North Carolina (Albemarle), stays true to her roots to this day, living in Nashville Tennessee and has all the physical attributes that come to mind when you think of the sweethearts of the South. She’s undeniably beautiful, she’s always so loving and affectionate with her fans, Pickler’s charm constantly has people flocking to her and that thick Southern accent just adds to Kellie Pickler’s allure.
Life hasn’t always been kind to Kellie Pickler. Though she seemingly always has a smile on her face and always has something positive to say, Kellie has been through hardships a lot of people wouldn’t have been able to handle.
While a lot of children grow up having parents they are happy to model their lives off of, Kellie Pickler had no such luxury. By all intensive purposes, Pickler’s mom was never involved in her life, nor was her father, who was in-and-out of jail while she was a child. According to Lansinglowdown.com, Pickler grew up being raised by her grandparents, where she would stay until her stint on the fifth season of American Idol.
American Idol would prove to be Kellie Pickler’s launching pad. After her elimination on the show, Pickler signed with 19 Recordings/BNA Records and was instantly in the recording studio laying down tracks for her first album. Not only did the album go gold, but one of the cd’s singles “I Wonder” was Pickler’s song of choice when she was given a chance to perform at the CMA Awards. The emotional performance, a performance that had Kellie Pickler in tears, wow’d all her peers in the audience and earned her a CMT Award for Performance of the Year.
Now a seasoned vet, Kellie Pickler has four top 15 singles (Billboard Hot Country) to her name, “Best Days of Your Life” coming in as her first single to break the top ten (9). Her third album is currently in the works, though no release date has been announced yet and she is happily married to songwriter, Kyle Jacobs, who has filled that void in her life.
Why she’s sexy: Kellie Pickler very much has that girl next door quality to her, although if she really did live next door she’d have a lot of guys pulling a Shia LaBeouf/Disturbia game plan and buying up all the binoculars they can find.
Let’s just go ahead and say it -- Kellie Pickler has a smokin’ body. Without getting too out of control with the description, Pickler is the definition of voluptuous -- the curves being everywhere they need to be -- any guy can’t help but turn around and look as she passes by. While there is certainly more to Kellie Pickler than what’s below the neck, very few of the women on this list have the great physical attributes of the North Carolina native.
Where a lot of women often have one or the other, Pickler not only has a breath-taking body, but she also has a beautiful face. Her blonde hair and bright eyes suck you in and her dazzling white smile has the power to steal your attention away from anyone or anything.
When it comes to true beauty, both inner and outer -- Kellie Pickler may be right there near the top of the list. The looks are obviously there, but the fact that Kellie doesn’t act like a snob and is endearing to everyone who is a fan of hers (or not) attributes to her sex appeal. No one (well, maybe a few people) thinks the holier than thou attitude is sexy, and not only is Kellie Pickler the exact opposite of that, she may be the biggest sweetheart in country music. Admittedly a fan of the southern drawl, Kellie Pickler has a rich one that personally endears herself to me. It’s just one, of the many things that makes her one of the sexiest women in country music.
Rascal Flatts "I Won't Let Go" and Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson "Don't You Wanna Stay" music videos are courtesy CMT.com. All others are thanks to YouTube
