Jennifer Kathleen Hanson (born August 10, 1973) is an American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
artist, songwriter and record producer. She made her artist debut in 2002 with the release of her single “
Beautiful Goodbye”. The song went on to become a top 20 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Songs reaching #16 in March 2003, the highest-charting debut single by a female country artist for that year. Her self-titled debut album,
''Jennifer Hanson'', was released that same year on
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
to critical acclaim, and in 2003 Hanson was nominated for the Top New Female Vocalist award from the
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...
. She received a nomination that same year for
CMT Breakthrough Video of the Year for her video “Beautiful Goodbye”, directed by
Trey Fanjoy
Trey Fanjoy is an American music video director. Fanjoy has directed over 150 major label music videos. Her videos have appeared on CMT, VH1, GAC, The Nashville Network, CMT Canada, and MTV. She is the first woman to win the Country Music Asso ...
.
As a songwriter, Hanson has written songs for a number of artists including
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...
,
Michelle Branch
Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. During the early 2000s, she released two top-selling albums: ''The Spirit Room'' and '' Hotel Paper.'' She won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Co ...
,
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born ) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Paltrow gained notice for her early work in films ...
,
Jason Aldean
Jason Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams; February 28, 1977) is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released ten albums and 40 singles. His 2010 ...
,
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...
,
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...
,
Billy Currington
William Matthew Currington (born November 19, 1973) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Mercury Records Nashville in 2003, he has released seven studio albums for the label: his self-titled debut (2003), '' Doin' Someth ...
,
Jana Kramer
Jana Rae Kramer (born December 2, 1983) Gives birthplace as Detroit, Michigan, of which Rochester Hills is a suburb. is an American country music singer and actress. She is known for her role as Alex Dupre on the television series ''One Tree Hil ...
,
Mickey Guyton
Mickey Guyton (; born Candace Mycale Guyton; June 17, 1983) is an American country music artist. Raised in Texas, Guyton was exposed to various types of music at a young age, and her material subsequently incorporates elements of contemporary cou ...
,
Sister Hazel,
Don Williams
Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing popular ballads and amassing seventeen number ...
,
Pam Tillis
Pamela Yvonne Tillis (born July 24, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis and ex-wife of songwriter Bob DiPiero. Tillis recorded unsuccessful p ...
,
Vince Gill
Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...
,
Tracy Byrd
Tracy Lynn Byrd (born December 17, 1966) is an American country music artist. Signed to Universal Music Group Nashville, MCA Nashville Records in 1992, Byrd broke through on the country music scene that year with his 1993 single "Holdin' Heaven" ...
,
The McClymonts
The McClymonts are an Australian country music trio comprising sisters Brooke McClymont (born 1981), Samantha McClymont (born 1986) and Mollie McClymont (born 1987), originally from Grafton, New South Wales. They have released one eponymous EP an ...
and
Dan Tyminski
Daniel John Tyminski (born June 20, 1967) is an American bluegrass composer, vocalist, and instrumentalist. He is a member of Alison Krauss's band Union Station, and has released three solo albums, ''Carry Me Across the Mountain'' (2000), on ...
. She co-wrote the #1 Billboard singles “
Leave The Pieces
"Leave the Pieces" is a song written by Jennifer Hanson and Billy Austin, and recorded by American country music duo The Wreckers for their debut album '' Stand Still, Look Pretty'' for which it served as lead single with a February 7, 2006, relea ...
” for country duo,
The Wreckers
The Wreckers were an American country music duo formed in 2005 by Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp, both of whom had solo recordings before the duo's foundation. In 2006, the duo released its debut album '' Stand Still, Look Pretty'', which produ ...
, as well as “
Let Me Down Easy” for Billy Currington. Hanson also co-wrote American Idol finalist,
Bucky Covington's Top 5 song, “
A Different World
''A Different World'' is an American sitcom (and a spin-off of ''The Cosby Show'') television series that aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987 to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable ( Lisa Bonet) an ...
”, as well as “
Country Strong
''Country Strong'' is a 2010 American drama film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, and Leighton Meester. The film, about an emotionally unstable country music star who attempts to resurrect her career, was directed and written ...
”, the title track from the Gwyneth Paltrow-Tim McGraw film of the same name. Recorded by Gwyneth Paltrow for the movie, the song features Vince Gill and
Patty Griffin
Patricia Jean Griffin (born March 16, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.Griffin, Patrici She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs ha ...
on background vocals. It was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2010
Satellite Awards
The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...
.
Early life
Hanson was born in
La Habra, California
La Habra (archaic spelling of ''La Abra'', ) is a city in the northwestern corner of Orange County, California, United States. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,239. A related city, La Habra Heights, is located to the north of ...
, on August 10, 1973. She is the daughter of road musician, Larry Hanson and singer-songwriter, Melody Vendrell Hanson. She is also the grandniece of Mexican actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian,
Armida Vendrell
Armida, born Armida Vendrell, (29 May 1911 – 23 October 1989) was a Mexican actress, singer, dancer and vaudevillian born in Aguascalientes, Mexico.A January 5, 1930,
article in the ''Detroit Free Press'' says that she was born in Sonora, Mex ...
, one of the early Latina movie actresses of the 1930s and '40s. Hanson's father toured with pop/soul duo
The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Los ...
and
Bill Medley
William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of The Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Med ...
, during his solo career, in the early to mid-'80s. It was during this time that her parents divorced. Hanson's father eventually moved to
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
from Los Angeles in 1986 after securing a job with country band,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
. In January 1987, she began working as a backup musician.
Hanson attended
La Habra High School
La Habra High School is a public co-educational high school located in the Orange County, California city of La Habra. Located between the Coyote Hills to the south and Puente Hills to the north, LHHS opened in 1954 and graduated its first class i ...
and is listed as one of their Notable Alumni, graduating in 1991. After graduation she attended
Fullerton College
Fullerton College (FC) is a Public college, public community college in Fullerton, California. The college is part of the California Community Colleges System and the North Orange County Community College District. Established in 1913, it is the ...
where she was a Music major and completed a vocational program in Music Business & Recording Engineering. While attending college, Hanson was a professional cheerleader for the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
for the ’91, ’92 and ’93 seasons. She represented the Rams at the
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
in 1993, cheering on the All-Star Cheerleading team that year. To pay for school she began competing in the
Miss America
Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...
Scholarship program. She is a former Miss La Habra 1991, Miss Orange County 1992 and Miss Garden Grove 1993. She won the title of
Miss California
The Miss California competition selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss America competition.
The pageant began in Santa Cruz in 1924 and was held there in 1925. During the years 1926 through 1946 in years when the Mi ...
in 1994 and competed at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City in September of that year. Ten years later she would return to the Atlantic City stage in 2004 to serve as a celebrity judge where she helped select
Deidre Downs
Deidre Downs Gunn (born July 7, 1980) is an American physician and former beauty pageant titleholder. Downs was Miss Alabama 2004 and later was crowned Miss America 2005.
Education
After graduating from Pelham High School in 1998, Downs attended ...
, Miss Alabama, as the new Miss America 2005.
Musical career
One of Hanson’s first appearances was a backing vocalist on
Rhett Akins
Thomas Rhett Akins Sr. (born October 13, 1969) is an American singer and songwriter. Signed to Decca Records between 1994 and 1997, he released two albums for that label (1995's '' A Thousand Memories'' and 1996's '' Somebody New''), followed by ...
' 1996 album ''
Somebody New''. In 1998 Hanson was signed to her first publishing deal as a songwriter with
Acuff-Rose Music
Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. was an American music publishing firm formed in 1942 by Roy Acuff and Fred Rose in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Acuff-Rose's honest behavior towards their writers set them apart from other music publishing firms ...
. She was a staff writer for Acuff-Rose from 1998 until 2003 when
Sony/ATV Music acquired the Acuff-Rose catalog and the companies merged. Hanson would go on to write for Sony/ATV from 2003 – 2016. In the fall of 2016 she signed with
Peermusic
Peermusic is a United States-based independent music publisher.
History
Ralph Peer, a field recording engineer and A&R representative for Victor Records, went on a scouting trip to Bristol, Tennessee. For two weeks, he recorded artists such as ...
where she currently writes.
Hanson began her career as a recording artist in 2002 with the release of her debut single “Beautiful Goodbye”, followed by her self-titled debut album being released on Capitol Records in 2003. She co-produced the album with recording engineer
Greg Droman
Greg Droman is an American record producer, mixing and audio engineer. He has made hit singles and albums for some of the biggest artists in pop, rock, and country music.
He has been Grammy and ACM nominated, winning an CMA as producer for A ...
and co-wrote most of the songs on it. The album produced three hit singles on the
Billboard Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
chart, including the Top 20 hit "Beautiful Goodbye", followed by "This Far Gone" at number 42 and "
Half a Heart Tattoo
"Half a Heart Tattoo" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Jennifer Hanson. It was released in August 2003 as the third single from the album ''Jennifer Hanson (album), Jennifer Hanson''. The song reached #40 on the ...
" at number 40. She made her national TV debut on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014.
The fourth incarnation of the ...
on February 28, 2003. In 2007 she switched to
Universal South Records
Show Dog Nashville is an American independent record label specializing in country music artists. It was founded in 2005 by singer Toby Keith. It was later merged with Universal South Records into Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009 until ...
, releasing her second studio album ''Thankful'' in early 2008, which she co-produced with
GRAMMY
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
award-winning mixer and producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist,
Nick Brophy
Nick Brophy is an American mixer, sound engineer, record producer and songwriter. The artists he has collaborated with and written for include Jason Aldean, the Rolling Stones, Avril Lavigne, Hootie & the Blowfish, Kenny Chesney, Carly Simon, ...
. It produced the singles "Joyride" and "'73", the former of which also reached number 42 on the country charts. In 2017 Hanson released a 5-song Christmas EP ''Under The Tree'', her first release in almost 10 years since her 2008 album, Thankful. In July 2020 Hanson released a collaboration EP ''Here's To Hoping'' with Folk/Americana artist Michael Logen, co-producing and co-writing all 5 tracks. ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' listed it among its music picks of the week.
Hanson's songs have earned her multiple
BMI, ASCAP, NSAI and NMPA Awards. Her song "Leave The Pieces" helped earn The Wreckers a GRAMMY nomination for Best Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group in 2007. She also wrote "You’re Breaking Your Own Heart" which appeared on Kelly Clarkson's Grammy Award-winning album ''
Stronger'' which won for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2013. Her work has been featured in numerous television shows, including ''
Grey's Anatomy
''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...
'', ''
Station 19
''Station 19'' is an American action-drama television series created by Stacy McKee for ABC that premiered on March 22, 2018. It is the second spin-off of ''Grey's Anatomy'' (after ''Private Practice''). Set in Seattle, the series focuses on th ...
'', ''
The Bold Type
''The Bold Type'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Sarah Watson and produced by Universal Television for Freeform. It is inspired by the life and career of former editor-in-chief of ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine Joanna Col ...
'', ''
The Voice
The Voice may refer to:
Fictional entities
* The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics
* The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe
* The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
'', ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'', ''
America's Got Talent
''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...
'', ''
America's Funniest Home Videos
''America's Funniest Home Videos'', also called ''America's Funniest Videos'' (abbreviated as ''AFV''), is an American video clip television series on American Broadcasting Company, ABC, based on the Japanese variety show ''Kato-chan Ken-chan Gok ...
'', ''
Songland
''Songland'' is an American songwriting competition series that aired on NBC from May 28, 2019, to June 15, 2020. The show, produced in cooperation with the Universal Television Alternative Studio, 222 Productions, Live Animals Productions and D ...
'', ''
Duets
A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers.
Duets or The Duets may also refer to:
Films and television
* ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis
* "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episod ...
'', ''
The Sing-Off
''The Sing-Off'' was an American television singing competition featuring a cappella groups. It debuted on NBC on December 14, 2009, and was produced by Sony Pictures Television and Outlaw Productions, with Mark Burnett's One Three Media (for a ...
'', ''
The Kelly Clarkson Show
''The Kelly Clarkson Show'' is an American daytime television variety talk show hosted by American singer Kelly Clarkson. It is produced and distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and features Clarkson interviewing celebrities and seg ...
'', ''
The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
'', ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'', ''
Selling Sunset
''Selling Sunset'' is an American reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reali ...
'', ''
Emily in Paris
''Emily in Paris'' is an American romantic comedy television series created by Darren Star for Netflix. Set in Paris, the series stars Lily Collins as aspiring marketing executive Emily Cooper, an American who moves to France to provide an Amer ...
'', ''Restored by the Fords'', ''Ghosted'', ''
The Fosters'', ''
Switched at Birth'' and ''
Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
'', as well as in major national and international ad campaigns and promo spots for
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
,
Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
,
Coors Light
Coors Light is a 4.2% (US) ABV light beer brewed in Golden, Colorado; Albany, Georgia; Elkton, Virginia; Fort Worth, Texas; Irwindale, California; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was first produced in 1978 by the Coors Brewing Company. The Canadia ...
and
AdventHealth
AdventHealth (formerly Adventist Health System) is a Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh-day Adventist non-profit health care system headquartered in Altamonte Springs, Florida, that operates facilities in 9 states across the United States. Th ...
.
She has served on the Board of Governors for
The Recording Academy
The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Aw ...
for the Nashville Chapter from 2016 to 2019. In 2019 she was elected President of the Nashville Chapter of the Recording Academy.
She was ranked No. 93 on the
FHM
''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...
100 Sexiest Women of 2005.
In 2021, Hanson wrote the song "I Will Follow", the second official single by the group
Chapel Hart
Chapel Hart is an American country music vocal group from Poplarville, Mississippi. Its members are sisters Danica Hart and Devynn Hart, and their cousin Trea Swindle, all three of whom are vocalists. The group has independently released two studi ...
.
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Music videos
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, Jennifer
1973 births
Living people
American country singer-songwriters
American women country singers
Capitol Records artists
Miss America 1995 delegates
Singer-songwriters from California
People from La Habra, California
Show Dog-Universal Music artists
21st-century American singers
21st-century American women singers
Country musicians from California
20th-century American people