- Country music vocalist born Audrey Faith Perry in Star Mississippi in 1967. Her last name of “Hill” came from her first marriage – she was married to music publishing executive Daniel Hill.
- Hill’s first public singing appearance was at the age of 7, at a 4-H event. As a teenager, she was singing in churches, and at 17, she formed a group to sing at rodeos. She moved to Nashville at 19 to pursue a career in music.
- She worked at a music publishing firm, and a co-worker heard her singing to herself one day. Word of her talent spread to the head of the firm, who encouraged her to sing demos for the firm. She also landed a job singing backup for a Nashville songwriter. A record company executive heard her sing at a show, and signed her.
- Her debut album, released in 1993, was Take Me As I Am. It sold over 3 million records, thanks to the singles Wild One and Piece of My Heart, both of which hit #1 on the country charts.
- Her second album was delayed due to surgery to repair a ruptured blood vessel in her vocal chords. Finally, in 1995, the album It Matters to Me was released. It also was a big success, going 4x platinum. Five singles from the album all were in the top 10 on the country charts, with the title track It Matters to Me reaching #1.
- In 1996, Hill was booked to tour as a supporting act for Tim McGraw. They quickly fell for one another, and when they discovered that Hill was pregnant, they married in October that year. Hill took a 3 year break to focus on family – except for a single that she released with McGraw in 1997 – It’s Your Love. The song topped the country chart, and peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
- Her next 2 albums were monster hits. 1998’s Faith sold 6 million copies, and had 2 singles hit #1 on the country charts – This Kiss and Let Me Let Go. These singles also crossed over to the pop music world, hitting #7 and #33 respectively on the Hot 100 chart. 1999’s Breathe was her biggest selling album, going 8x platinum. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart, and it won 3 Grammy awards. The title track Breathe peaked at #2 on the Hot 100 chart, her highest charting song on this chart.
- Hill’s first 2 albums in the 00s also were #1 on the Hot 200 chart. Cry in 2002 and Fireflies in 2005 both were double platinum records. The single Mississippi Girl topped the country chart, her ninth #1 country song. Her song Cry from the album won her fourth Grammy award. Her song Like We Never Loved At All, a duet with McGraw from Fireflies, also won a Grammy award.
- Her most recent album was released on November 17, and it is a collaborative album with McGraw. Titled The Rest of Our Life, it debuted at #1 on the Country album chart, and at #2 on the Hot 200 chart (Taylor Swift’s new album kept it from #1).
- From 2007 to 2012, Hill sang the intro song to NBC Sunday Night Football. She has acted in 2 films, several TV shows and was an advisor (along with McGraw) in The Voice Season 11. She has 4 fragrances in her name on the market.
- Faith Hill was one of the top female country music performers in the 90s. Nothing controversial about her – her music is mostly full of positivity and love, and even the “darker” songs don’t seem very dark. Enjoy the video for her biggest crossover hit, Breathe.