Faith Hill

Faith Hill (born Audrey Faith Perry on September 21, 1967), is an American country singer.

She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill’s voice (described as both soulful and raspy  and careful song selection  have helped her to sell more than 35 million records and accumulate 11 number-one singles on the Country charts.

Hill has been honored by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music, the Grammy Awards, the American Music Awards and the People’s Choice Awards. Her Soul2Soul II Tour 2006 with husband McGraw became the highest-grossing country tour of all time. In 2001, she was named one of the “30 Most Powerful Women in America” by Ladies Home Journal. In September 2008, Hill released her first Christmas compilation, titled Joy to the World.

Hill was born Audrey Faith Perry in Ridgeland, Mississippi, near Jackson, Mississippi. She was adopted as an infant and raised by a couple in the nearby town of Star. Her adoptive parents reared their two biological sons along with Hill in a devout Christian environment.

Hill’s debut album was Take Me as I Am (1993); sales were strong, buoyed by the chart success of “Wild One.” Hill became the first female country singer in 30 years to hold Billboard’s number one position for four consecutive weeks when “Wild One” managed the feat in 1994. [8] Her version of Erma Franklin’s “Piece of My Heart”, also went to the top of the country charts in 1994  although rock fans drew unflattering comparisons to Janis Joplin’s cover[citation needed]. The album sold a total of 3 million copies.

The recording of Faith’s second album was delayed by surgery to repair a ruptured blood vessel on her vocal cords. It Matters to Me finally appeared in 1995 and was another success, with the title track becoming her fourth number-one country single. Several other top 10 singles followed, and more than 3 million copies of the album were sold.  The fifth single from the album, “I Can’t Do That Anymore,” was written by country music artist Alan Jackson.

In Spring 1996, Hill began the Spontaneous Combustion Tour with country singer Tim McGraw. At that time, Hill had recently become engaged to her former producer, Scott Hendricks, and McGraw had recently broken an engagement. McGraw and Hill were quickly attracted to each other and Hill broke her engagement so that she and McGraw could begin dating. The pair became engaged on the tour and married on October 6, 1996. They have three daughters together: Gracie Katherine (b. 1997), Maggie Elizabeth (b. 1998) and Audrey Caroline (b. 2001). Since their marriage, Hill and McGraw have strived to never be apart for more than three consecutive days.

In 2007 Faith Hill took over as the signature voice of NFL on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, singing the theme song about which the show’s producer said:

It’s not often that you get the opportunity to have a mega-star like Faith Hill perform the signature open to your show.
—NBC Sunday Night Football producer Fred Gaudelli, MSNBC

Hill also sang the theme for Sunday Night Football that airs on the NBC network. The song is called “Waiting All Week For Sunday Night”. She will be heard on Aretha Franklin’s upcoming album, A Woman Falling Out of Love, planned to be released in 2009.

Annie Lennox is working with Faith Hill and twenty-two other female artists to raise the awareness of the transmission of HIV to unborn children in Africa. “Sing”, which Hill collaborated on, was released on World Aids Day on December 1, 2007, when Lennox appeared at the next Nelson Mandela 46664 concert in South Africa.

Faith Hill is said to be recording the follow-up to the 2005 Fireflies, which has a release date of 2009.

Source [ Wikipedia ]