Born 52 Years Ago Today in Georgia, the Grammy-Winning Voice Behind One of Country Music’s Most Successful Duos

Born on this day (September 12) in 1974 in the small town of Douglas, Georgia, Jennifer Nettles seized the national spotlight as the lead singer of country-pop duo Sugarland, which she founded in 2002 with Kristian Bush and Kristen Hall. When Hall left the group in 2006, Nettles and Bush carried on as a duo.

To date, Sugarland has released six albums and sent five singles to number one on the Billboard country songs chart, including “All I Want To Do”; “Already Gone”; and “Want To”. They have found success among both country and pop audiences, picking up three Grammy Awards, five Academy of Country Music Awards, and six Country Music Association Awards.

Although Nettles is best known for her work with Sugarland, her career goes far beyond the duo. In 2006, she featured on the chart-topping country version of Bon Jovi’s single “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”.

Releasing two full-length solo albums, her talents also extend to screens both big and small. She starred alongside Kevin Bacon in the Amazon Prime series The Bondsman and portrayed the late matriarch Aimee-Leigh Gemstone in the hit HBO series The Righteous Gemstones.

Additionally, Nettles has landed starring roles on Broadway, including Chicago, Waitress, and — most recently — Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo.

Today, we’re taking a trip through the life and career of Jennifer Nettles in honor of her 52nd birthday.

Jennifer Nettles Got Her Start As Part of Another Duo

Raised in small-town Georgia, Jennifer Odessa Nettles grew up singing at school assemblies, her Southern Baptist church, and in community theater.

Playing in local bands as a teen, she studied Spanish and anthropology at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia.

Before graduating in 1997, Nettles teamed up with University of Georgia student Cory Jones to form the group Soul Miner’s Daughter.

They recorded two albums together before she created the Jennifer Nettles Band in 1999. Under that moniker, Nettles released three studio albums. She became a regular on Atlanta’s folk-rock scene.

Sugarland

In 2002, Jennifer Nettles joined forces with fellow Atlanta musicians Kristian Bush and Kristen Hall to form Sugarland.

In 2004, Sugarland made their debut with Twice the Speed of Life. The album yielded the hit single “Baby Girl”, which climbed to number two on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and set a record for the longest chart run since the inception of Nielsen SoundScan in 1990.

Hall left the group after just one album, but Nettles and Bush forged ahead. Their sophomore album, 2006’s Enjoy the Ride, became the duo’s second straight multi-platinum release.

The first two singles —”Want To” and “Settlin’”— each reached number one on the country music charts. Meanwhile, “Everyday America” and “Stay” both cracked the top 10.

“Stay” was the first Sugarland song written solely by Nettles, and its success speaks for itself.

While it could never quite overcome Taylor Swift’s “Our Song” for the top spot, “Stay” took home Best Country Song and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

Solo Career

In recent years, Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush have embraced solo musical endeavors. Bush has worked as a producer for budding country superstar Megan Moroney; while Nettles has released multiple solo albums.

Her 2014 LP That Girl — produced by Rick Rubin — debuted atop the Billboard country albums chart and number five on the pop albums chart.

[RELATED: Exclusive: Sugarland Shares Memories, Talks Future, Touring With Little Big Town]

Afr a follow-up album and a Christmas compilation, she reunited with Bush for 2018’s Bigger, which reached number two on the country albums chart.

Featured image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC)