Jessica Andrews

Early life

Andrews was born in Wynne, Arkansas to parents Jessie and Vicki Andrews. When she was seven, a bone was growing through her spinal cord, a condition that required surgery. She had a 50/50 chance of coming out of it paralyzed. Andrews discovered her passion for singing in the fourth grade. Andrews planned on dancing in her school's talent show, but her sister convinced her to sing Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" instead. At 11, she put her first band together. Meanwhile, after someone sent a song of her singing to producer Byron Gallimore, Andrews signed with DreamWorks Records Nashville and soon began working on her first album. Prior to its release, she began opening for Faith Hill on her Fall 1998 tour, as well as for Tim McGraw (also produced by Gallimore) for his New Year's Eve concert.

Heart Shaped World

At the age of 15, Andrews released her debut album, Heart Shaped World. Gallimore, who was sensitive to her age, let her record 50 songs before settling on the twelve that appear on the album. Serving as its debut single was "I Will Be There for You", which Andrews had recorded in November 1998 for the Nashville soundtrack to the DreamWorks Animation film The Prince of Egypt. The song reached No. 28 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts in 1999. In March of that year, she also performed the song on an episode of the soap opera Another World; One month later, she made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry. Also in 2000, she toured with Trisha Yearwood. Heart Shaped World also produced two more Top 40 country singles in "You Go First (Do You Wanna Kiss)" and "Unbreakable Heart", although the fourth single ("I Do Now") failed to reach Top 40. The album itself peaked at No. 24 on the Top Country Albums charts. Andrews was also featured on the premiere episode of On the Verge, a television series on CMT which followed the careers of up-and-coming country artists. On May 3, 2000, Andrews was invited to sing "Unbreakable Heart" at the ACM Awards, where she was nominated for Top New Female Vocalist, along with Julie Reeves and Chalee Tennison.

Who I Am

Who I Am was the title of Andrews' second album, released in 2001. It was used as the theme song for the police drama Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye where the main character Sue Thomas (played by deaf actress Deanne Bray) was a deaf FBI officer, landing a position in an FBI Surveillance team thanks to her lip reading talents. It also appeared at the end of an episode of Lizzie McGuire.

Andrews, who was 17 years old when Who I Am was recorded, described the album as a more mature effort than Heart Shaped World, because it focused more on the emotions that come with growing up. Serving as the album's lead-off single, "Who I Am" became, to date, Andrews' only Number One (and only Top Ten) hit on the country music charts, in addition to peaking at No. 28 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts. In a 2001 interview, Andrews explained that she recorded the song (which was written by Brett James and Troy Verges) because she felt that its lyrics were especially fitting to her own life: "Everything is so true in that song, except that my grandmother's name is not Rosemary. It's about believing in yourself and being supported by those around you. No matter how many mistakes you make, your friends and family will be there for you." Also included on the album was Andrews' first songwriting credit in the track "Good Friend to Me", which she co-wrote with Annie Roboff and Bekka Bramlett.

Andrews spent 2001 on tour with Billy Gilman to help promote her second album and its lead-off single; she would later tour with Tim McGraw as well. The success of "Who I Am" also earned Andrews a Top New Female Vocalist award from the Academy of Country Music, while the album itself received RIAA gold certification for sales of 500,000 copies only four weeks after its release. Its second and third singles, "Helplessly, Hopelessly" and "Karma", peaked at No. 31 and No. 47, respectively, on the country charts.

Now and Ain't That Life

Now was the title of Andrews' third studio album, also released on DreamWorks Nashville. Its lead-off single, "There's More to Me Than You", reached Top 20 on the country singles charts, while the second (and final) single, "Good Time", failed to make Top 40. The album featured more of an emphasis on ballads than her first two albums did. Also in 2003, she befriended and began dating songwriter Marcel, co-writer of "There's More to Me Than You". She also recorded a duet with him titled "I Won't Hold You Down" on his 2003 debut album You, Me and the Windshield.

In late 2004, Andrews charted a duet with Bret Michaels of the rock band Poison, entitled "All I Ever Needed" for his solo album Freedom of Sound. The song was Michaels' only country hit, peaking at No. 45. Shortly afterward, Andrews began work on her fourth studio album, tentatively titled Ain't That Life. Its lead-off single, "The Marrying Kind", failed to chart, while "Summer Girl", the second single, peaked at No. 46 in mid-2005. DreamWorks' recording division was dissolved shortly afterward and the album was shelved.

2008–present

Andrews performed a duet with pop artist Richard Marx titled "Wild Horses", which was released on his 2008 album Sundown. In October 2008, Andrews signed with Lyric Street Records's subsidiary imprint, Carolwood Records. Her first single for the label, "Everything" (which Andrews co-wrote with Marcel), was released on November 23, 2008. The song, produced by Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts, went to No. 45 in early 2009. Her album was then pushed back to a later 2009 release; but in October of that year, Carolwood Records closed and the album was shelved. Additionally, Andrews was the only artist on Carolwood not to be transferred to its parent label, Lyric Street.

On November 2, 2010, Geffen Records released Andrews' first greatest hits album, Icon, as part of their Icon budget release series.

On February 14, 2017, Jessica Andrews revealed that the Ain't That Life album and other unreleased albums were stolen and put on iTunes and were not released by her. Andrews' last album remains 2003's Now.

Personal life

In October 2010, Andrews became engaged to singer-songwriter Marcel. They were married on November 11, 2011.

Singles