Sugarland band member is Leaving

[RKSTFan]

Kristen Hall Exits Sugarland

Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush Expected to Continue Touring

By: Calvin Gilbert

Singer-songwriter Kristen Hall is leaving Sugarland to concentrate on her songwriting. In a statement posted Tuesday (Jan. 17) on the trio's Web site, remaining members Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush said, "Kristen has decided that she wants to stay home and write songs, and we support her in that decision."

A source at the group's record label, Mercury Nashville, told CMT.com that Hall's departure from the band takes effect immediately. Sugarland's next performance is scheduled for Feb. 11 at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. Nettles and Bush are expected to continue carrying the Sugarland banner as the opening act for Kenny Chesney's upcoming tour that kicks off March 23 in Dayton, Ohio.

Hall released two solo albums for High Street/Windham Hill before teaming with Nettles and Bush to form Sugarland. With Nettles and Bush, Hall co-wrote the trio's debut single, "Baby Girl," and "Something More." Both tracks peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's country singles chart. Hall is the sole write of Sugarland's current single, "Just Might (Make Me Believe)," currently at No. 12 on the country chart. All three singles are from the platinum debut album, Twice the Speed of Life, released in October 2004.

The Atlanta-based trio received the favorite new artist trophy at the 2005 American Music Awards. They are also nominated for a Grammy for best new artist in an all-genre category that includes Ciara, Fall Out Boy, Keane and John Legend. The Grammy Awards will be announced Feb. 8 in Los Angeles.


Source: CMT.com (http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1520825/20060117/sugarland.jhtml?headlines=true)

[Troll]

Thanks for the info. Hope they continue to have sucess without her.

[MiniShaniaTwain]

Awww that's too bad! I love Sugarland!

[cftennisnative3]

I can't stand Sugarland's music (it's overplayed IMO and I don't like the main singer's voice)...but I am sad to read the news, because she seemed like a really nice person.

[jgb 15]

That does suck I grew on Sugarland a bit I thought Baby Girl was annoying because it got played so much and the song just has that mushy annoyance to it. And them boppin their heads all over brought cheesy fake smile to the screen blahhh Im sick.


They'll do great still they have good music.

[twaintrain]

I can't stand Sugarland's music (it's overplayed IMO and I don't like the main singer's voice)...but I am sad to read the news, because she seemed like a really nice person.

I agree. It's weird to me that she can sound so bad on "Baby Girl" and "Something More" but to me she sounds really good on "Who Says You Can't Go Home" with Bon Jovi.

[RKSTFan]

I can't stand Sugarland's music (it's overplayed IMO and I don't like the main singer's voice)...but I am sad to read the news, because she seemed like a really nice person.

:nod: I agree.

I never understood the hype behind them.

Mercury put a ton of money into making them famous though.

I'm sure Luke Lewis just about had a heart attack when he heard the news that his latest favorite pet project [Sugarland] was going to lose a member.

Luke is probably hoping that Jennifer Nettles goes solo.

She's practically a solo artist as it is. She's the face of "Sugarland."

Not to mention her solo 'side work' with Bon Jovi has turned into a bigger gig than just 1 song.

I don't care for her voice and I think Sugarland [and Jennifer] are all hype, but that's jmo.

[aFinn]

I read someplace that Kristen Hall would continue writing songs for Sugarland, even though she will not perform with them. I don't remember where I read it, might be an article, or a post in a messageboard, so don't know how much truth there is in what I read. :uhh:

[Troll]

I agree it probably won't be long till she makes a solo album.

[cftennisnative3]

Thanks :)

Ahh....the duet video with Bon Jovi just came on.... I gotta change the channel :p

I wonder now that they're a duo..if they will try to market the guy more as his own person (I mean, since there's two of them, it would be wierd to just only know the main singer...)

[SHANIANUTS!]

Sugarland is a hell of a lot better than most duos out there today.

[SHANIANUTS!]

.................or trios.................

...I love her with Bon Jovi....;)

[Troll]

.................or trios.................

...I love her with Bon Jovi....;)

You got that right.

[Shaniabomber99]

Thanks for the info.

Carley

[JustAPrettyFace]

Meh. I'm a HUGE Sugarland fan. I wish Kristen the best of luck in life. I, too, had read that she was going to write songs for Sugarland. I hope she does just that, because her writing is remarkable, IMO!

[BamaGuyJP]

I'm surprised so many people don't like them here. :-( I love them and think they're awesome. I was sad to hear that Kristin was leaving, but I wish her the best of luck and I'm sure she'll continue to write amazing songs. I've been a fan of Jennifer Nettles for a while. I saw her live before she hooked up with Kristin and Kristian back in the summer of 2002. She was still touring with the Jennifer Nettles Band. I have both of the CDs they recorded. It sounds SO different than the stuff she's doing now. She's a very versatile artist and I appreciate that.

[bambas]

Nettles has a voice, that or you immediatelly like it, or not. So people or like them or not.

I am in the latter category, her voice and overplayed twang just irks me.

[cftennisnative3]

I used to like them a lot when they started out, and "Baby Girl" was the first single...I wished them a lot of success because I thought they'd be underated. I thought her voice sounded somewhat like Sara Evans, and I kinda liked it. After all the overplays of their singles, her voice started to get to me...

To me her voice sounds like she's trying her hardest to sound the most twangiest she can get and overdo her country accent (which is most likely not the case, but it just sounds like it). I do love twangy voices (depends who it is and what the voice sounds like though), but when it's like this, I can't stand it. I do love Sara Evan's voice though...

[Troll]

From cmt.com

Sugarland's Debut Certified Double Platinum
Thu. January 26.2006 8:13 PM EST

Sugarland's debut album, Twice the Speed of Life, has been certified double platinum by the RIAA for shipments of 2 million copies. The album includes the hits "Baby Girl," "Something More" and "Just Might (Make Be Believe)." Sugarland -- now a duo following the recent departure of Kristen Hall -- will also perform on the Grammy Awards telecast. They are nominated in the all-genre category of best new artist. Sugarland also begin their tour with Kenny Chesney and Dierks Bentley in March.

[Troll]

Check out this fish Jennifer caught.

http://www.countrynation.com/bogfish.jpg
-- Thanks to Madison, Wisconsin's Q106 for the photo of Sugarland lead singer Jennifer Nettles and her really big Wahoo. The station's morning show was on hand when she caught the fish in the Dominican Republic, recently.

[Troll]

A dinka dink, a dinka doo
-- When asked recently if former band member Kristen Hall, would be contributing to Sugarland's new album, Jennifer Nettles more or less danced around the question.

"Right now we don't know yet, Nettles responded. "Obviously (Kristen) has been out writing with other folks and we wish her very well with that."

Adding, "There are some older songs we've written with her that may show up on this record if it fits the whole vibe, but we'll have to see what the journey of it is."

She's toast.

[Troll]

Nettles Gives Clues About Sugarland's Next Album

Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles told reporters at the 2006 CMT Music Awards that she and duo partner Kristian Bush expect to have a new album out in late 2006 or early 2007. She won a trophy on Monday night (April 10) for collaborative video of the year for "Who Says You Can't Go Home," a duet with Bon Jovi.

"Obviously, [the release date] is contingent upon who else is releasing theirs," she says. "Whenever Tim McGraw is releasing his, Sugarland is not releasing theirs! Once that game is all played, it ought to be somewhere in that window. Right now, Kristian and I are writing. We've been writing with other folks and loving what we're doing. We'll see. We'll see. It feels rootsy, organic and very much Sugarland."

Asked whether any of the songs will be written by Kristen Hall, who left the band in January, Nettles said, "Right now, we don't know yet. She's writing with other folks, and we wish her very well. Kristian and I have been writing together and just enjoying and exploring that and what we can do together and what we bring to another outside writer. We've been writing with some Nashville folks and seeing what we bring to it. ... It's an exploration for us and it's super fun. As it stands right now, there are some older songs we have written with her that may show up on this record if it fits the whole vibe, but we'll have to see what the journey of it is."

Currently, "You Can't Go Home Again" is No. 3 on Billboard's country airplay chart. Nettles says that although she loved Bon Jovi's music already, the pairing was "an experiment."

"A lot of times you hear about a country artist crossing over, but you rarely hear when they cross over into country from rock 'n' roll," she said. "I thought, 'Well, this will be an experience.' I tried it. I thought it was fun, and it added something to it. And they seemed pleased. And from there, it progressed into the CMT Crossroads [episode], which was huge -- huge -- for us. A really big deal. Then we did the video, and it continued to climb up the charts. So they're excited, I'm excited and it's nice when something works."

http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1528446/20060411/sugarland.jhtml?headlines=true