Background and career
Audrey Faith McGraw (née Perry; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American country singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold almost 50 million albums worldwide. Hill's first two albums, Take Me as I Am (1993) and It Matters to Me (1995), were major successes that placed a combined three number ones on Billboard's country charts, quickly establishing her as one of country music's top acts. Next she achieved immense mainstream and crossover success with two albums, Faith (1998) and Breathe (1999). Faith produced her first international hit, "This Kiss", while her album Breathe became one of the best-selling country albums of all time. The album was led by the huge crossover success of the songs "Breathe" and "The Way You Love Me". Breathe saw massive sales worldwide and earned three Grammy Awards. In 2001, Hill recorded "There You'll Be" for the Pearl Harbor soundtrack and it too became an international success. The track remains her best-selling single in Europe. Hill's next two albums, Cry (2002) and Fireflies (2005), continued her commercial successes; the former spawned another crossover single, "Cry", which won Hill a Grammy, and the latter produced the singles "Mississippi Girl" and "Like We Never Loved at All", which earned additional Grammy Awards. Hill has won five Grammy Awards, 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, six American Music Awards, and several other awards. Her Soul2Soul II Tour 2006 with Tim 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 2009, Billboard named her as the Adult Contemporary Artist of the Decade (2000s) and also as the 39th top artist overall. From 2007 to 2012, Hill was the voice of NBC Sunday Night Football's intro song. Hill has been married to American singer Tim McGraw since 1996, with whom she has recorded several duets.
Audrey Faith Perry was born September 21, 1967, in Ridgeland, Mississippi, north of Jackson, Mississippi. She was adopted as an infant and raised in the nearby town of Star, 20 miles southeast of Jackson by her adoptive parents, Edna and Ted Perry, with their two biological sons in a devout Christian environment. She began singing at Star Baptist Church at age 3. Hill's vocal talent was apparent early, and she had her first public performance, at a 4-H luncheon, when she was seven. In 1976, a few days before her 9th birthday, she attended a concert by Elvis Presley at the State Fair Coliseum in Jackson, which deeply impressed her. During her teenage years, she became a member of the Steele Family gospel quartet and performed regularly with them at area churches of all denominations. At 17, Hill formed a band that played at local rodeos. She graduated from McLaurin Attendance Center in 1986, then briefly attended Hinds Junior College (now Hinds Community College) in Raymond, Mississippi. At times, she sang for prisoners at the Hinds County Jail, her song of choice being "Amazing Grace". At age 19 Hill dropped out of college to move to Nashville and pursue her dream of being a country singer. In her early days in Nashville, she auditioned to be a backup singer for Reba McEntire, but failed to secure the job. A few years later in 1991, the singer who beat out Hill for the job was killed in a plane crash with 6 other members of Reba's band. After a stint selling T-shirts, Hill became a secretary at a music publishing firm. Hill also landed a job at a local McDonald's restaurant franchise, which she intensely disliked. "Fries, burgers, cash register–I did it all, I hated it," she has said. In 1988, she married music publishing executive Daniel Hill (not to be confused with Canadian musician Dan Hill). A co-worker heard Hill singing to herself one day, and soon the head of her music publishing company was encouraging her to become a demo singer for the firm. She supplemented this work by singing backup vocals for songwriter Gary Burr, who often performed his new songs at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe. During one of those performances, Martha Sharp, an executive from Warner Bros. Records was in the audience, and, impressed with Hill's voice, began the process of signing her to a recording contract. In 1994, she and Daniel Hill divorced shortly after the release of her album.
Faith 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. Her version of "Piece of My Heart", also went to the top of the country charts in 1994. The album sold a total of 3 million copies. Other singles from the album include "Take Me as I Am". The recording of Hill'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 third 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 Alan Jackson. Other singles from the album include "You Can't Lose Me", "Someone Else's Dream", and "Let's Go to Vegas". During this period, Hill appeared on the acclaimed PBS music program Austin City Limits. In spring 1996, Hill began the Spontaneous Combustion Tour with country singer Tim McGraw. At the 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 began a relationship. After discovering that Hill was pregnant with their first child, the couple married on October 6, 1996. The couple have three daughters together: Gracie Katherine (born May 5, 1997), Maggie Elizabeth (born August 12, 1998) and Audrey Caroline (born December 6, 2001). Since their marriage, Hill and McGraw have endeavored to never be apart for more than three consecutive days. After the release of It Matters to Me, Hill took a three-year break from recording to give herself a rest from four years of touring and to begin a family with McGraw. During her break, she joined forces with her husband for their first duet, "It's Your Love". The song stayed at number one for six weeks, and won awards from both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. Hill has remarked that sometimes when they perform the song together, "it [doesn't] feel like anybody else was really watching."
Faith Hill re-entered the music business in 1998 with her third album Faith. The album showcased her progression toward a more mainstream, pop-oriented sound, although it retained a distinct country sound. "This Kiss" became a number one country hit, and was the first of her singles to place on the pop charts, peaking at number seven. More than six million copies of the album were sold. The album also had several other hits including another duet with McGraw, "Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me", "Let Me Let Go" and "The Secret of Life". Hill immediately released Breathe in November 1999 following this success; it debuted at the top of the Billboard Country and all genre charts, ahead of albums by Mariah Carey and Savage Garden. Although the album had few overt country sounds, it "complement[ed] her vocal strengths". For the first time, the album consisted solely of songs about love and did not venture into the more somber territory that her previous albums had touched. The title track, "Breathe", reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "The Way You Love Me" hit the top 10 as well, topping out at number six on the charts. The album won Hill three Grammy Awards including Best Country Album, Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for "Let's Make Love" featuring Tim McGraw and Best Country Female Vocal Performance for "Breathe". It marked a step away from her girl-next-door image, as the videos and promotional pictures all portrayed a much sexier image. Breathe has sold almost 10 million copies worldwide. 2000 was a very busy year for Hill. In addition to a successful tour with her husband, Hill was featured in a CBS television special, VH1's Behind the Music, VH1 Divas 2000, and the Lifetime cable channel's Intimate Portrait series. She signed an endorsement deal with CoverGirl makeup, performed at the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards, appeared on the cover of numerous magazines, and performed the national anthem at Super Bowl XXXIV. Hill was also named to Mr. Blackwell's 10-best dressed women of 2000, the only singer listed among actresses and other celebrities. Hill and McGraw also embarked on their first Soul2Soul tour, the "Soul2Soul Tour 2000". In 2000, Hill recorded a song for the movie Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, entitled "Where Are You Christmas?" (written by James Horner, Will Jennings and Mariah Carey). The song also appeared on the pop and country charts. Hill's success on the pop charts disturbed some country music insiders, who questioned whether she was trying to dismiss her country roots and move into the pop genre. Despite the grumbling, Hill won the CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Award, and in her acceptance speech announced, "I love this business, and I love this industry... and my heart is here." In 2001, Hill recorded a song for the Pearl Harbor soundtrack. The track, also titled "There You'll Be", which was originally offered to Celine Dion, has since become one of Hill's most critically acclaimed songs. Because of the single's international success, a compilation album There You'll Be: The Best of Faith Hill, was released to international markets. The album featured dance mixes of "Breathe" and "The Way You Love Me" along with alternate versions of "Piece of My Heart" and "Let Me Let Go". "There You'll Be" was nominated for a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In 2002, Hill released her fifth studio album, Cry. The album "spotlight[ed] her impressive set of pipes", and also marked the completion of her "transformation into a pop diva", containing few nods to her country roots. Though the album debuted at number one on Billboard magazine's pop and country album charts, the album's singles received much less country radio airplay than her previous hits, instead aiming to international and adult contemporary markets. The album also won a Grammy Award and over 3.7 million copies have been sold worldwide. An album track from the album "Baby You Belong", was used as the theme song for the movie Lilo & Stitch. The music video featured clips from the movie as well as performance clips. "When the Lights Go Down", the official second single from the album was used to promote an NBC television special which detailed the making of Cry and also featured intimate performances of Hill's hits.
In 2005, Hill returned with her new country album, Fireflies. The CD debuted on top of the Billboard Country and all genre album charts, placing her among only a handful of artists to have three consecutive albums debut at number one on both charts. The debut single, "Mississippi Girl", became Hill's highest-debuting single. The song was specifically written for her by John Rich (of Big & Rich) and Adam Shoenfield of MuzikMafia, and tells the abbreviated story of her life. Hill recorded two other songs by Rich, "Sunshine and Summertime" and "Like We Never Loved at All", both of which became successful singles. The title track "Fireflies", "Stealing Kisses" and "If You Ask" were written by artist Lori McKenna and also appear on McKenna's albums. They appeared and performed the songs together on the Oprah Winfrey Show and an awards show. The album marked a return to Hill's country roots and succeeded in reestablishing her place on country radio. In 2006, after a six-year break from touring following the birth of her youngest daughter, Hill and husband Tim McGraw embarked on their Soul2Soul II Tour 2006. The tour became the highest grossing country music tour ever with a gross of $90 million. It was named "Major Tour of the Year" by the prestigious Pollstar, beating out such heavyweights as Madonna and The Rolling Stones.
In 2007, Hill began work on her first domestic greatest hits package, titled The Hits, which was released on October 2. It contains two new tracks, "Lost" and "Red Umbrella", as well as 13 additional tracks. The album also features hits covering her entire career from 1993 to 2005. Included with the 2-Disc Special-Edition of The Hits is a DVD of 11 of Hill's music videos. The DVD substitutes the Tim McGraw duet "Just To Hear You Say That You Love Me" for their "I Need You" duet on the CD. Hill is also featured on McGraw's 2007 album Let It Go where she sings two duets with him, "I Need You" and "Shotgun Rider". Both of these songs were performed during the couple's critically acclaimed Soul2Soul II Tour; this tour began in June 2006 and ran through to August 2007. The song I Need You was nominated for both the Best Country Collaboration with Vocals and Best Country Song awards at the 2008 Grammy Awards. At the beginning of the 2007 NFL season, Hill replaced Pink as the signature voice of NFL on NBC's Sunday Night Football, singing the weekly game's introductory theme song; of which the show's producer said:
