Whitney Duncan

After appearing in the fifth season of the prime-time singing competition Nashville Star in 2007, Whitney Duncan maintained dual careers as a country-pop singer and reality television personality. She was born in Scotts Hill, Tennessee, on August 3, 1984, and began performing around the Bible Belt as a child. By her final year of high school, Duncan's vocal power and songwriting ability had progressed significantly, earning the teenager a record deal in Nashville and the attention of Kenny Rogers. She appeared on Rogers' 42 Ultimate Hits as both a guest vocalist and co-writer in 2004, duetting with the country legend on her own song, "My World Is Over." Although she left the record label shortly thereafter, her fifth-place finish on Nashville Star (during which time she competed against fellow up-and-comers like Kacey Musgraves) enabled Duncan to successfully self-release her debut album, Whitney Duncan, in 2007. A major-label record deal with Warner Bros. followed in 2008, resulting in a pair of singles — "When I Said I Would" and "Skinny Dipping'" — that both peaked at Number 48 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Her label debut, 2010's Right Road Now, also narrowly missed the Top 40, stalling at Number 41. One year later, she competed in the CBS series Survivor: South Pacific and met future husband Keith Tollefson, with whom she would later appear in reality TV programs like Say Yes To The Dress and The Amazing Race 25. Meanwhile, she remained with Warner Bros. for one final release, 2011's Young In America EP, before reclaiming her independence with 2013's self-released One Shot. Following a short hiatus, she revived her career in 2020 with singles like "Lightweight," "All She Wants," and "Homesick," all of which appeared on her 2021 EP, Heartbreaker.

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