Julie Roberts (born February 1, 1979) is an American country music singer. Signed to Mercury Nashville in 2003, Roberts made her debut with the single "Break Down Here" in February 2004, a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts and the first track from her self-titled debut album. A second album for Mercury, Men & Mascara, followed in 2006. This album produced two non-charting singles in its title track and a cover of Saving Jane's "Girl Next Door".
Julie Roberts | |
|---|---|
 Roberts in 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | February 1, 1979 |
| Origin | Lancaster, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | Mercury Nashville, Sun |
| Website | Official website |
In 2013, she took part in the Blind Auditions of fourth season of the reality television show The Voice but failed to qualify. Her comeback album Good Wine & Bad Decision charted on both US Country Albums chart and the US Indie Albums charts.
Roberts has multiple sclerosis.[1]
Biography
editJulie Roberts was born in Lancaster, South Carolina, United States, in 1979. The daughter of an engineer and accountant, she began her life performing in pre-school plays. She also was in school choirs and performed in a rendition of "My Fair Lady" at a singing summer camp. Roberts began performing country music as a child. When she was in junior high and high school, she toured with her family, playing at festivals in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. She also performed at area nursing homes (where she developed an appreciation for blues music); and worked at Carowinds (a theme park in Charlotte, North Carolina) and Dollywood. She also worked with 60- and 70-year-old men performing at nursing homes. Her influences include Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell and Tanya Tucker.
She first attended USC Lancaster in her hometown from 1997 to 1999 before graduating from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, with a degree in business administration. Roberts performed in local clubs and restaurants until graduation, she began working for Mercury Nashville Records, later becoming assistant to label head Luke Lewis. During her tenure there, she recorded a demo tape with producer Brent Rowan during her off-time. Rowan eventually played the tape for Lewis, who was favorably impressed by the recording.
Country music career
editRoberts was signed to Universal Music Group Nashville's Mercury Nashville division. Her debut single, "Break Down Here", was released on February 24, 2004. The song had previously been recorded by Trace Adkins under the title "I'd Sure Hate to Break Down Here". Roberts released her self-titled debut album on May 25, 2004. It charted within the Top 10 of the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, peaking at No. 9. "Break Down Here" became a Top 20 single on the Hot Country Songs chart, however, she never charted within the Top 40 after that. The two follow-up singles, "The Chance" and "Wake Up Older", peaked at No. 47 and No. 46 on the country charts, respectively. The album was then certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on December 13, 2004.
In 2006, she released her fourth single, "Men & Mascara", which would in-turn be the title track to her second album. Men & Mascara was released on June 27, 2006. Although not charting a single from this album, it managed to chart even higher than her debut album. It reached No. 4 on the Top Country Albums and No. 25 on the all-genre Billboard 200. Included on the album is a cover version of Saving Jane's "Girl Next Door", however, it failed to chart along with the album's title track.
Roberts and Mercury Records parted ways at the beginning of May 2010. She released her third album "Alive" on June 7 as an independent artist, with the first single being "NASCAR Party".
In 2011, Roberts revealed that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.[2]
Sun Records signed Roberts to a recording contract in mid-2013. Her album Good Wine & Bad Decisions was the first full release for the label in 40 years.[3]
Roberts will release the album Ain’t in No Hurry on October 28, 2022.[4]
Charities
editRoberts made a donation of $124,250 to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital after she, along with contestant Peter Buccellato, won the $100,000 prize in the bonus round on the game show Wheel of Fortune on an episode that aired in February 2007.[5]
The Voice (2013)
editIn 2013, Julie Roberts took part in the Blind Auditions of fourth season of the reality television show The Voice. In the third Blind Audition episode broadcast on NBC on April 1, 2013, she sang a cover of Blake Shelton's version of the Dave Barnes song "God Gave Me You". None of the four judges, Adam Levine, Shakira, Usher or Blake Shelton pressed their "I Want You" buttons to turn their chairs and she did not qualify to the following rounds.[6] Shelton immediately recognized the contestant and introduced her by name to the other judges.
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [7] |
US [8] |
US Indie [9] | |||||||
| Julie Roberts |
|
9 | 51 | — | |||||
| Men & Mascara |
|
4 | 25 | — | |||||
| Alive |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| Good Wine & Bad Decisions[11] |
|
36 | — | 47 | |||||
| Ain't in No Hurry[12] |
|
— | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Extended plays
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Who Needs Mistletoe |
|
| Sweet Carolina |
|
| Naked Series |
|
| Covered |
|
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [13] |
US [14] | ||||
| 2004 | "Break Down Here" | 18 | 81 | Julie Roberts | |
| "The Chance" | 47 | — | |||
| 2005 | "Wake Up Older" | 46 | — | ||
| 2006 | "Men & Mascara" | — | — | Men & Mascara | |
| "Girl Next Door" | — | — | |||
| 2011 | "NASCAR Party" | — | — | Alive | |
| 2012 | "The Star-Spangled Banner" | — | — | Non-album song | |
| 2019 | "I Couldn't Make You Love Me"[15] | — | — | TBD | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Music videos
edit| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "Break Down Here" | Steven Goldmann |
| "The Chance" | Michael McNamara | |
| 2005 | "Wake Up Older" | Steven Goldmann |
| 2006 | "Men & Mascara" | Peter Zavadil |
| 2011 | "NASCAR Party" | Camp Riley |
| 2012 | "Whiskey and You" | Zac Adams |
| "Sweet Carolina" | Fabio Frey | |
| 2013 | "He Made A Woman Out Of Me" |
References
edit- ^ Julie Roberts, Special to (May 28, 2014). "Living with MS, 'I do not have to give up on my dreams'". CNN.
- ^ Betts, Stephen L. (August 17, 2012). "Julie Roberts Combats M.S. With Health and Fitness". The Boot.
- ^ "Julie Roberts First Artist To Sign With Sun Records in 40 years". Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
- ^ Nicholson, Jessica (October 27, 2022). "Julie Roberts Returns With First Album in Nearly a Decade: 'Everything Has Happened at the Right Time'". Billboard. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ "Fortunate "Wheel" Winner". The State. February 1, 2007. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
- ^ "Got Country Online – Bringing you the latest country music news & reviews".
- ^ "Julie Roberts Album & Song Chart History – Country Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
- ^ "Julie Roberts Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
- ^ "Julie Roberts Album & Song Chart History – Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
- ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum – August 27, 2010: Julie Roberts certified albums". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
- ^ "Julie Roberts: 1st New Music On Sun In Decades". PledgeMusic.
- ^ Jessica Nicholson (October 27, 2022). "Julie Roberts Returns With First Album in Nearly a Decade: 'Everything Has Happened at the Right Time'". Billboard. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
- ^ "Julie Roberts Album & Song Chart History – Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
- ^ "Julie Roberts Album & Song Chart History – Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
- ^ Markos Papadatos (May 11, 2019). "Catching up with Julie Roberts: 'I Couldn't Make You Love Me'". Digital Journal. Retrieved June 16, 2019.