Josh Kelley

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Josh Kelley
Kelley performing in 2007
Background information
Born	January 30, 1980 (1980-01-30) (age 29)
Origin	Augusta, Georgia, USA
Genres	Pop rock, blues rock country
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Years active	2001–present
Labels	DNK Records, Hollywood Records, Threshold, Universal Music Group Nashville
Associated acts	Lady Antebellum
Website	JoshKelley.com

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Josh Kelley (born January 30, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter. He has released five studio albums and nine singles to date.

Biography

Born in Augusta, Georgia, Kelley began his musical career at the age of 11. His younger brother, Charles Kelley, is also a musician and singer in the trio Lady Antebellum^[1]. As teenagers, Josh and Charles formed a band called Inside Blue; the band released a five-song CD that garnered the attention of a major label.

Kelley attended the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi and is a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

Music career

Kelley released his independent album, Changing Faces, in 2001 and signed with Hollywood Records in 2002. Working with John Alagia as his producer, Kelley released the album, For the Ride Home, on June 3, 2003. The album featured his hit song "Amazing," which most people know him by. He also made an appearance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2003.

Even though Kelley has stated that the lyrics from his song "Angeles" were fabricated, he moved to Los Angeles from Georgia and recorded the majority of his second album, Almost Honest, in the studio of his home. Almost Honest was released on August 23, 2005, and featured the hit single, "Only You."

After asking to be released from his contract with Hollywood Records, Kelley released his third album, Just Say The Word under his own label named Threshold. The digital version of the album was released through iTunes on June 6, 2006, while the physical album was released in stores in the United States on July 25, 2006. "The Pop Game" was the first single from his self-produced album and was accompanied by a cartoon video.

Kelley's next album, Special Company, was released in the United States on January 14, 2008. His label, Threshold, was renamed DNK Records so as to avoid confusion with another record label by the same name. Kelley also released a digital album that summer titled Backwoods on July 7. Later that year, Kelley released his latest album, To Remember, on September 23 exclusively through Target stores. The title track was also included on the AT&T Team USA Soundtrack.

Kelley has toured with many artists including Rod Stewart, Third Eye Blind, Toby Lightman, Counting Crows, and Ryan Cabrera.

Kelley remains a supporter of file sharing applications for independent artists who have a difficult time receiving an audience. In fact, Kelley was "found" after targeting Eric Clinger at Hollywood Records with private spam, "If you like James Taylor, Try Josh Kelley," messages using the Napster program.

Kelley has recently written a track for Leona Lewis' upcoming album, due for release later this year.

In November 2009, Kelley signed with Universal Music Group Nashville and will record his first country album in 2010.^[2]

Personal life

Josh Kelley started at 11 with his guitar. While he was a teenager, he and his brother Charles formed a band called Inside Blue. By the time he was 14, the band released a CD with five songs in it which led to a meeting with James Brown.

Kelley majored in Art at the University of Mississippi and was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He is an avid golfer and attended college on a golf scholarship.

Kelley is married to TV and motion picture actress Katherine Heigl and wrote a song for her – "Katie's Song." The Kelley-Heigl wedding took place at the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah. Heigl's "Grey's Anatomy" co-stars T.R. Knight, Sandra Oh, Ellen Pompeo and Justin Chambers attended, as well as "Private Practice" star Kate Walsh. The ceremony was officiated by Unitarian minister Tom Goldsmith. Heigl walked down the aisle to an acoustic song written by Kelley and performed by a cello and guitar players. According to a source, the bride and groom wrote their own vows. The bridesmaids wore red. The two met in 2005 when Heigl, 26, appeared in a video for Kelley's song "Only You."

Kelley and Heigl adopted a 10 month old Korean girl from South Korea. Kelley and Heigl's daughter is named Nancy Leigh, after Heigl's mother and sister (Nancy and Leigh, respectively), although they have nicknamed her Naleigh.

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Other contributions

Notes

External links

• Official website
• The Official Josh Kelley Street Team
• Official Josh Kelley Store
• Aug. 2006 New York TV interview
• Josh Kelley at the Internet Movie Database
• Josh Kelley collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
• "The Prince & Me" movie