Shelby Kathleen Dressel (born October 25, 1990 " Shelby Dressel Band Home Page"
Retrieved February 28, 2010.) is an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

singer-songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk-acoustic tradition, although this role has transmuted thr ...

from

Avon Park, Florida Avon Park is a city in Highlands County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 8,836, and in 2018 the estimated population was 10,695. It is the oldest city in Highlands County, and was named after Stratford-upon-Avon, ...

, who made the top 46 on the ninth season of ''

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 ...

''. Describing Dressel's ambitions, Rachel Pleasant Chambliss of Lakeland, Florida's "

The Ledger ''The Ledger'' is a daily newspaper serving Lakeland, Florida, and the Polk County area. The paper was founded on August 22, 1924, as the ''Lakeland Evening Ledger''. In 1927, it bought its main competitor, the morning ''Lakeland Star-Telegram' ...

" wrote, "At 19, Shelby Dressel still has a lot of things to figure out. Singing isn't one of them. She's been singing her whole life, and there's not a single doubt in her mind that singing is what she wants to do for a living."Pleasant, Rache
"Forging Ahead, Despite Elimination"
'The Ledger', February 22, 2010. Dressel was born with an undeveloped 7th

cranial nerve Cranial nerves are the nerves that emerge directly from the brain (including the brainstem), of which there are conventionally considered twelve pairs. Cranial nerves relay information between the brain and parts of the body, primarily to and ...

, leaving the right side of her face paralyzed. Overcoming this condition, Dressel had a successful initial audition for ''American Idol'' in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

.Baida, Aiyana
"Local singer makes 'American Idol' cut"
, 'Highlands Today', January 22, 2010. In spite of her elimination from the show, Dressel's "beautiful voice" had an immediate impact on the ''Idol'' judges and on

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of ''The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on t ...

in particular.

Biography

Early life

Dressel was a waitress at Bob Evans in

Sebring, Florida Sebring ( ) is a city in the south-central Florida and is the county seat of Highlands County, Florida, United States, nicknamed "The City on the Circle", in reference to Circle Drive, the center of the Sebring Downtown Historic District. As of t ...

before she left Florida to head to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

for the filming of

. She was raised on a dairy farm in

. Her father, Gary Dressel, is an

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

instructor; and her mother Kathleen Dressel a

paralegal A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant, or paralegal specialist is a professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with a license to practice law. The market for paralegals i ...

. Her parents divorced when Dressel was young. She has 12 siblings from a blended family.Clark, Mat
"From Estero gigs to Hollywood: Shelby Dressel headed for potential Idol stardom"
'Naples News', February 8, 2010. Her father, Gary, sings and plays the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, so music was a part of Dressel's life since childhood. Other musical members of her family include: some of her brothers who play the

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

; a grandmother who plays the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

; and a maternal grandfather who played both the

and the

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

.Tuffley, Christopher
"Excited but not Surprised"
, 'News-Sun', January 24, 2010. In middle school, Dressel took up the sport of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

and continued that through high school. She also played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

throughout high school."Shelby Dressel"
"Ocala Style Magazine", June 2010, page 76. Dressel attended

Avon Park High School Avon Park High School (APHS) is a public high school in Avon Park, Florida, United States. It is part of The School Board of Highlands County. Notable alumni * Dee Strange-Gordon, MLB player * Tom Gordon Thomas Flynn Gordon (born November ...

, where she graduated in 2009. She was 2nd runner-up for the spot of

homecoming queen Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

. After graduating from high school, she enrolled at

South Florida Community College South Florida State College is a public college in Florida with campuses in Highlands, DeSoto and Hardee counties. It is part of the Florida College System. South Florida State College was founded in 1965 and serves around 16,000 students a ...

During an interview with Ocala Style Magazine, Dressel mentioned that she is still at college working on an

Associate's Degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

(otherwise known as Associate of the Arts), as she continues to pursue her music career. On August 21, 2010, an interview aired on WFHT 1390am, with co-hosts Liz and Lin. During that broadcast, Dressel stated she is enrolling in an online schooling program to earn her degree, due to the possibility of her future relocation.

Music Early On

"Music is just my passion. It's so therapeutic. It gets you out of any kind of stress or tension or anything like that, and I just love it," Dressel said. Dressel performed at the

Future Farmers of America National FFA Organization is an American 501(c)(3) youth organization, specifically a career and technical student organization, based on middle and high school classes that promote and support agricultural education. It was founded in 1925 at Vi ...

Talent Contest in

. Her first time singing in front of a crowd, Dressel, an eighth-grade student at the time, was able to win first place.Howard, Leigh. "Idol Gives Back." Columbia County Magazine, July 2010, pages 39-41. Dressel returned to the talent contest. On one occasion, she was suffering from

laryngitis Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx (voice box). Symptoms often include a hoarse voice and may include fever, cough, pain in the front of the neck, and trouble swallowing. Typically, these last under two weeks. Laryngitis is categorised ...

, but still took herself to the stage for her performance. Her father, Gary, said, "She made it through that performance, and it was a struggle. It was the most exciting thing that ever happened to her or me." She won the FFA's Talent Contest in 2003 and in 2005 performing a duet with friend and classmate Logan Palmer. Dressel performed at a

4th of July Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music) In music a fourth is an interval spanning four staff po ...

celebration in her home town in 2009. Also in 2009, Dressel began to teach herself how to play the guitar with the aide of a tutorial book. After only practicing for 2 months with the guitar guide, she was able to play guitar during a performance at the

Colgate Country Showdown The Country Showdown is an annual talent contest to find undiscovered country music singers across the United States. As many as 100,000 acts compete in the Country Showdown annually, which is considered to be the largest country music talent com ...

. At the Showdown, the Shelby Dressel Band performed "Not the Waiting Kind", which is written by Dressel and was later re-titled "Not Worth the Wait." They placed 5th in the competition. While in 10th grade, Dressel and her friend Logan Palmer tried out for the TV show

Can You Duet ''Can You Duet'' is an American reality-competition show on CMT. The show was produced by FremantleMedia, the same company that produces ''American Idol''. The show premiered on April 14, 2008, and the first season ended on June 13, 2008. Six ...

in Nashville, Tennessee, performing the

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and E ...

song "

Long Time Gone "Long Time Gone" is a bluegrass song by American musician Darrell Scott, originally recorded by him on his 2000 album ''Real Time'' which Scott recorded together with Tim O'Brien. The song was later covered by the American band Dixie Chicks, an ...

". Dressel considers

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocat ...

Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the '' Billboard'' country songs ch ...

, and

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

musical influences in her life. Dressel also was exposed to a lot of Outlaw Country in her youth, as a result of her father's musical interests. Dressel considers her biggest musical influence to be

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country singer and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place o ...

. In an interview with Dave Schlenker, Dressel described her music style, saying, "I would say Miranda Lambert is the closest I can get to describing my sound. She sings more like Texas-outlaw-type country, which isn't necessarily what I do. It's not rock. It's not pop. It's country. Country is what I do, that's my background."

Dedication to Church

A big dedication in her life is to her church, the Union Congregational Church, located in

. She has been singing there since she was 7 years of age. Her pastor, Tiger Gullett, said she is not like other girls with a good voice, "She's just a good 'ol country girl." Gullett said, "She sings from her soul." She's part of a singing group at the church and also helps with mentoring and volunteering. Dressel sang her first solo number at church when she was in fourth grade. Jim Lanier, the music director of the church stated, "She has the most precious voice; everybody loves to hear her sing. She's always a favorite at church. She sang from the heart."

Shelby Dressel Band

Dressel's passion for music drove her to form a band, the Shelby Dressel Band. The band members include: Shelby Dressel, Chad Elders, Matt Flowers, David Hale (known as Pastor Dave), Ryan Cook, and Dave McDonald. Dressel is the lead vocalist and plays the

. Elders is the drummer and provides

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

. Flowers plays acoustic guitar and provides backup harmonies. Pastor Dave is the bass player. Cook plays both the electric and acoustic guitar, while McDonald plays both guitars as well as the

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

. The band placed 5th at the

in 2009, where they performed Dressel's original song, "Not the Waiting Kind," later renamed "Not Worth the Wait." The band performs some songs written by Dressel, including "The End", "Not Worth the Wait," "Coming Back Around", and "Hear It From Me."

Facial Paralysis

Dressel was born with an undeveloped 7th

, leaving the right side of her face paralyzed. The condition is known as congenital right

facial paralysis Facial nerve paralysis is a common problem that involves the paralysis of any structures innervated by the facial nerve. The pathway of the facial nerve is long and relatively convoluted, so there are a number of causes that may result in facial ...

. During her

pre-interview, Dressel said, "I wasn't able to smile correctly or use the right side of my face." On expressing the impact the condition had on her growing up, Dressel told Leigh Howard, "I had no idea that there was no one else like me. I live in a small town. My friends and family hardly notice that there's anything different about me." When talking with

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American media personality and producer. He is the co-host of ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'', as well as the host of multiple media shows including ''American Idol'', ''American Top 40'', and '' ...

prior to her audition performance for season 9 of American Idol, Dressel said the condition made her a "little uncomfortable" but that "when it comes to chasing your dreams and going after what you want, to set that to the side and do it." When she was a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which aired February 23, 2010, Dressel told DeGeneres that, "It's just something that you are more acceptable to when you know it your whole life." The weekend of June 5, 2010, Dressel made a surprising visit to Evans, Georgia, to meet up with a young girl who has the same condition. The girl's family had seen Dressel's

appearance and personally invited her to spend the weekend at their home, hoping that Dressel would offer their daughter inspiration. Dressel and her manager drove 8-hours to make the surprise visit, and spent the day at their home. This was the first time Dressel had met someone with the same condition, however since her

showing, Dressel has received many emails from people who suffer from facial paralysis. Dressel said, "Facial paralysis doesn't affect anyone's intelligence or talents." Courage to Smile, a support group for people with facial paralysis and their families, credits Dressel as an inspiration for their formation.

''American Idol'' journey

Season 9

Dressel auditioned for

Season 9 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of ''American Idol'' at the

auditions. Family and friends attempted to have her audition a year earlier, to no avail. Her aunt eventually persuaded her to audition by taping a newspaper article mentioning the Orlando audition times to the refrigerator. During her audition, Dressel sang the song " Turn Me On" by

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

which aired on January 20, 2010. In the middle of the audition, she had a moment where she forgot her lyrics and showed the four judges her down-to-earth side. Dressel said, "I was kind of surprised they were letting me sing so long. I started second-guessing myself." She received four yeses from the judges and moved on to Hollywood Week. Although not televised by

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, Dressel's first round song during Hollywood Week was "

A Little Past Little Rock "A Little Past Little Rock" is a song written by Brett Jones, Tony Lane and Jess Brown, and recorded by American country music artist Lee Ann Womack. It was released in June 1998 as the first single from her album ''Some Things I Know''. The son ...

", which is originally sung by

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack Liddell (; born August 19, 1966) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Her 2000 single, "I Hope You Dance" was a major crossover music hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart and the Top 15 ...

. The following step of Hollywood Week was the group round. For the group round performance, Dressel was a member of the group called the Suffragettes. Shelby's groupmates included Audri Vargas,

Candice Glover Candice Rickelle Glover (born November 22, 1989) is an American R&B singer and actress who won the twelfth season of ''American Idol''. Glover is the first winner to have auditioned three times before being cast for the live shows. Her debut a ...

and Kelsey Laverack/Rey, who later appeared on ''The Voice''. The group performed

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

' song "

Superwoman Superwoman is the name of several fictional characters from DC Comics. Most of them are, like Supergirl, women with powers similar to those of Superman, like flight, invulnerability, and enhanced strength. Detective Comics, Inc. trademarked the ...

". For Dressel's third song for the week, she had a little difficulty remembering her lyrics during her practice; however she was able to present a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

song, "

More Than a Feeling "More Than a Feeling" is a song by the American rock band Boston, released as the lead single from the band's 1976 debut album by Epic Records in September 1976, with " Smokin' as the B-side. Tom Scholz wrote the whole song. The single pea ...

", with no problems. She made it to the top 50 contestants for the show, but was sent home when they made cuts for the top 24 ''Idol'' selection, which aired on Fox on February 16, 2010.

deemed it a "mistake" that Dressel was sent home.

Season 10

Dressel auditioned for ''American Idol'''s tenth season in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

during the weekend of July 17, 2010. She advanced to the second and third round of auditions based on her performance of

Natalie Grant Natalie Diane Grant (born December 21, 1971) is an American singer and songwriter of contemporary Christian music. She received the Gospel Music Association's Dove Award for Female Vocalist of the Year four consecutive years (2006, 2007, 2008 an ...

's "In Better Hands Now".

Season 14

Dressel then auditioned a third time for ''Idol'''s fourteenth season, once again in Nashville. This time, despite her audition not being shown, she advanced to Hollywood Week.

Post-''Idol''

Immediate attention

Dressel caught the attention of many after her performances on season 9 of ''

''. On February 16, 2010, she was the seventh-ranked search at

Google.com Google Search (also known simply as Google) is a search engine provided by Google. Handling more than 3.5 billion searches per day, it has a 92% share of the global search engine market. It is also the most-visited website in the world. Th ...

, and actually had more searches for her name than any contestant in the top 24 ranking."The Journey Isn't Over"
, 'News-Sun', February 19, 2010. At that time, Dressel's official website had over 10,000 visitors in less than 24 hours. She is receiving many fan emails. Fan clubs have been established on the social networking website

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

, with thousands of members, and Dressel's personal Facebook page is hit with hundreds of friend requests daily. Fans have also frequented

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

to watch videos from her various performances, which are uploaded by fans. Dressel created her own YouTube channel and in the months to follow a fan YouTube channel also emerged, which received over 300 subscribers after only a few weeks. Her ''American Idol'' audition has had over 50,000 viewers, with multiple videos being uploaded to YouTube. The videos of her performance on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...

'' have netted over 6,000 views. A personal video, with a performance of Miranda Lambert's song "

White Liar "White Liar" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Miranda Lambert. It was released in August 2009 as the second single from her album ''Revolution''. Lambert performed "White Liar" on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' on ...

" has had over 900 views in less than three months. When Dressel returned to her hometown, the radio station WWOJ 99.1 FM, invited her for an "on-air" interview. In an interview with the ''News-Sun'', following her dismissal on ''Idol'', Dressel said, "It will be cool to see where it goes from here." When pondering her return to her hometown, she said, "It'll be fun getting to play for everybody back home because they've seen somebody from their town go to Hollywood and be on national television.

''The Ellen DeGeneres Show''

After her dismissal from season 9 of ''

'', the new co-host,

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...

, was quick to invite Dressel to her show, ''

''. While judging on ''Idol'', DeGeneres said to Dressel, "I love your voice and I love your confidence." On her show, DeGeneres said, "There's a girl named Shelby who I thought was really amazing," when she told her guests and viewers of Dressel's scheduled appearance. On February 23, 2010, Dressel appeared on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'', once again singing Boston's "

". When she finished the song, the audience gave her a standing ovation. She also wrote a new song, "Coming Back Around", based on her experiences in Hollywood. Dressel told DeGeneres that she was contemplating on trying out for ''American Idol'' next season, but wanted to let things cool down because of ''Idol'''s busy schedule process. When reflecting on her ''Idol'' experience, Dressel said,"Walking away from it, I've gained a lot of knowledge, like working with different people, being under that kind of pressure and being around cameras all the time. You have to be camera-ready all the time. Looking back, I definitely learned a lot."

Performances

Dressel performs her original songs, including: "Not Worth the Wait", "Hear It From Me", "The End", and "Coming Back Around." After her journey on season 9 of ''

'', Dressel performed in a welcome home concert on March 6, 2010 at Witham Chevrolet in

. After her return home concert, Dressel performed later that evening at Duffer's Sports Grille, in

. Dressel also performed at the CTE Annual Hoedown, located at the Cracker Trail Elementary School in Sebring on March 25, 2010. Dressel was a scheduled performer at the

Sebring International Raceway Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility in the southeastern United States, located near Sebring, Florida. Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating race tracks in the U.S., its first race being run i ...

for the annual

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...

. Dressel appeared with well-known country singer,

Sammy Kershaw Samuel Paul Kershaw (born February 24, 1958) is an American country music artist. He has released 16 studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications among them. More than 25 singles have entered the Top 40 on the ...

, and other acts, including Blackwater, the Dank Hanks Band, and One Night Rodeo; at the KIX Country Fest. The Country Fest, presented by

WIKX WIKX (92.9 FM) is a commercial radio station located in Charlotte Harbor, Florida, United States, broadcasting to the Southwest Florida area. WIKX broadcasts a country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular m ...

92.9FM Country, was held at the Charlotte County Fairgrounds in

Port Charlotte, Florida Port Charlotte is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. The population was 54,392 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Punta Gorda, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Port C ...

on April 25, 2010. Besides performing her original songs, Dressel also performed the

Lady Antebellum Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar) ...

song, "

American Honey "American Honey" is a song written by Cary Barlowe, Hillary Lindsey and Shane Stevens, and recorded by American country music group Lady Antebellum. It was released on January 11, 2010, as the second single from their second album '' Need You Now ...

", and the

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...

song, "

Cowboy Casanova "Cowboy Casanova" is a song by American singer Carrie Underwood. It was written by Underwood, Mike Elizondo, Brett James. It was released on September 14, 2009, by Arista Nashville as the lead single from her third studio album, '' Play On''. The ...

." The Moose Lodge in Sebring scheduled Dressel for numerous performances in April and May 2010. To commemorate South Florida Community College (SFCC) Class of 2010, Dressel sang a special song for the graduates on May 6, 2010 at the SFCC Theatre for the Performing Arts. The song, titled "Graduation Road", was written especially for the service by Doug Andrews and David Hale, staff members of the college. Dressel, along with

Fran Cosmo Francis Cosmo Migliaccio (born October 17, 1956) is an American musician best known as a former lead singer of the bands Boston and Orion the Hunter. Music career Cosmo was first featured on guitarist Barry Goudreau's self-titled solo album ...

(the former lead singer of

), and Gibson Cage appeared together at the Four Points Sheraton Château Élan, in Sebring on May 30, 2010. Dressel once again performed with the Dank Hanks Band on June 12, 2010, at Tanqueray's, in

. Dressel made a return to Duffer's Sports Grille, in Sebring, on July 1, 2010, with a performance accompanied by her brother, Scott Dressel. Dressel, her brother Scott, and Dave McDonald were scheduled for future appearances at Duffer's Sports Grille throughout the Summer of 2010. The Main Street Tap Room in

hosted an event on August 28, 2010, featuring Dressel along with Noise After Nine; Dressel's bandmates, Ryan Cook and Matt Flowers are also members of the band Noise After Nine. Dressel is scheduled to perform at the 3rd Annual Oktoberfest in her hometown on October 16, 2010.

Charity work

Dressel has performed at many events for a variety of charities. The Shelby Dressel Band put on a concert to raise money for an Avon Park Resident with

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a Ch ...

, raising $6,390 for the project. March 11, 2010, Dressel sang for a

Meals on Wheels Meals on Wheels is a programme that delivers meals to individuals at home who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals. The name is often used generically to refer to home-delivered meals programmes, not all of which are actually named ...

event at the Palms of Sebring. Dressel performed on March 26, 2010 at

, in

, for Relay For Life, where she sang the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

. On April 6, 2010, Dressel was at Highlands County Courthouse in

for Heartland For Children, which promotes child abuse awareness. The event was in observation of child abuse awareness month. Dressel performed at an event benefiting the

Boys and Girls Club Boys & Girls Club may refer to: * Boys & Girls Clubs of America * Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada * Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Clubs, Bronx, United States * Essex Boys and Girls Clubs, in Essex and East London, England * The Boys' and Girls' Clubs A ...

Highlands County Highlands County is a county located in the Florida Heartland region of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 101,235. Its county seat is Sebring. Highlands County comprises the Sebring-Avon Park, FL Metropolita ...

on April 16, 2010. The Theatre for the Performing Arts at

held the 16th annual D.A.R.E. Day Celebration on April 27, 2010. D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. At the D.A.R.E. Celebration, Dressel performed Taylor Swift's song "

You Belong With Me "You Belong with Me" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her second studio album ''Fearless (Taylor Swift album), Fearless'' (2008). Swift wrote the song with Liz Rose and produced it with Nathan Chapman (record prod ...

." The 5th grade spectators were welcomed by Dressel to sing along during the performance. Dressel also sang a few songs at a benefit on May 22, 2010, where proceeds were directed to help save birds effected by the April 20, 2010, oil well blowout, which is known as the

Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an industrial disaster that began on 20 April 2010 off of the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered ...

. She was welcomed to attend the function by an 8-year-old fan from

Lake Placid, Florida Lake Placid is a town in Highlands County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 2,223 and in 2018 the estimated population was 2,439. It is part of the Sebring Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town has two nickname ...

, via email, and surprised the young fan during a radio interview with 106.9 The Bull, accepting the invitation. Dressel performed on June 25, 2010 for the Jacob Casey Foundation's 3rd Annual Casey Classic, which was held at the Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

. Dressel is scheduled to perform at a benefit concert on November 13, 2010, in Martinez, Georgia, to support the Augusta Christian's Senior Mission Trip."Shelby Dressel in Concert"
, Augusta Christian Schools. Retrieved November 8, 2010.

References

External links

Official Website

Shelby Dressel
at

Shelby Dressel
at

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

The Official Shelby Dressel Channel
at

Shelby Dressel
at ReverbNation.com
Shelby Dressel
at MySpace

at Shelby is endorsed by and plays Merida Guitars {{DEFAULTSORT:Dressel, Shelby American Idol participants American country singer-songwriters American performers of Christian music American women country singers Singer-songwriters from Florida People from Highlands County, Florida 1990 births Living people 21st-century American women singers Country musicians from Florida 21st-century American singer-songwriters