Lady A

Did You Know?

• Since January 2012, Lady A has partnered with the charity myLIFEspeaks to support disabled orphans in Haiti.
• In 2013, the group created the fund LadyAID to bring awareness to children suffering in hospitals, mainly in the United States and Canada.

History

Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood, and Hillary Scott formed the group in 2006 in Nashville. Scott, a Nashville native, is the daughter of country singer Linda Davis, while Kelley is the brother of pop artist Josh Kelley. Kelley and Haywood, both from Georgia, attended middle school together. Kelley moved to Nashville in mid-2005 from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he had worked construction with his brother John.

After failing to launch a solo career, he convinced Haywood to relocate to Nashville in 2006 to write music. Scott recognized Kelley from Myspace and began talking with him at a local music club; Kelley invited her to join the group, which took the name Lady Antebellum. On a BBC Radio 2 show in 2010, the band explained the name came from a photo shoot in historical costumes at antebellum houses. The trio performed locally before signing with Capitol Records Nashville in July 2007.

Scott mentioned in an interview that she was rejected from American Idol twice. Shortly after signing, Jim Brickman chose them to sing on his 2007 single 'Never Alone', which reached No. 14 on the adult contemporary charts. In mid-2007, they wrote a song for the MTV series The Hills. Their debut single 'Love Don't Live Here' was released in September 2007, with a music video in December.

The debut album, Lady Antebellum, produced by Paul Worley and Victoria Shaw, was released on April 15, 2008, and became the first album by a new duo or group to debut at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart. The second single 'Lookin' for a Good Time' peaked at No. 11 in December 2008. The group opened for Martina McBride's Waking Up Laughing Tour in 2008.

Name controversy

The band members stated the name was chosen arbitrarily, inspired by a photo shoot at an antebellum mansion, with one saying 'one of us said the word and we all kind of stopped and said, man, that could be a name.' Haywood noted they 'had a lady in the group, obviously, and threw Lady in the front of it for no reason.' The name drew criticism, including from a Ms. Magazine writer in 2011 who called it an example of glorifying a culture based on violent oppression.

On June 11, 2020, amid the George Floyd protests, the band announced it would abbreviate its name to 'Lady A' to remove 'Antebellum'. The members said they had not previously sought the dictionary definition of the word but consulted their 'closest black friends and colleagues,' leading to 'eyes opened wide to the injustices.' Fan response was mixed, with some decrying virtue signaling. American Songwriter commented that 'to many this change does little more than add extra insult to this ongoing injury.'

Awards and nominations

Lady A first made a splash at the Country Music Association Awards by taking home New Artist of the Year in 2008, eventually adding seven more CMA trophies to its collection. The group broke Rascal Flatts' six-year hold on Vocal Group of the Year at the 2009 ceremony. In 2010, Lady A became the first act ever to claim CMA Single of the Year two years in a row. The trio also won Song of the Year at the 53rd Grammy Awards and took Top Vocal Group at the 2012 ACM Awards. Beyond awards, the band honored eight military families in 2013 with private concerts and onstage recognition for their service.