Miranda Lambert Through the Years: From ‘Nashville Star’ to Country Icon

Credit: Shutterstock (2); Courtesy Miranda Lambert/Instagram

Miranda Lambert Through the Years: From ‘Nashville Star’ to Country Icon

Miranda Lambert has been unstoppable since she hit the music scene in 2003 as a contestant on Nashville Star. Since then, the country superstar has released seven solo albums, four albums with her group, Pistol Annies, and won countless awards for her undeniably catchy tunes. “I haven’t changed from Lindale at all,” she told Refinery29 in October 2019, referencing the Texas town where she was raised. “The only thing that has changed is that now I live in Nashville, I spend time in New York, and I have had a really amazing journey artistically so my career is on this path. Other than that, I’m still this same booze and jeans girl that I was before I left.” Lambert released her first album, Kerosene, in 2005. Six years later, she teamed up with fellow country singer-songwriters Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley to form Pistol Annies. The trio’s debut, Hell on Heels, hit stores soon after Lambert’s wedding to Blake Shelton. As her star continued to rise, the hitmaker’s personal life also became a hot topic. [jwplayer 9tMH9w0e-zhNYySv2] “I was a country singer in Nashville, and it was very comfy,” she told NPR in November 2019. “You had the right attention for the right reasons. And then the Hollywood thing came into the picture and it just threw me for a loop.” Lambert’s marriage to Shelton ended in 2015, and she had two more high-profile relationships — with Anderson East then Evan Felker — before marrying police officer Brendan McLoughlin in 2019. “I met the love of my life. And we got hitched!” she gushed on Instagram at the time. “My heart is full. Thank you Brendan Mcloughlin for loving me for…. me. #theone.” In 2021, the "Tin Man" singer released not one but two albums: The Marfa Tapes, a collaboration with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, and Hell of a Holiday, a Christmas album with the Pistol Annies. That same year, she also took home her second Grammy for Best Country Album for 2020's Wildcard. During her acceptance speech, she thanked her fellow nominees, all of whom were female artists or women-fronted groups: Brandy Clark, Ashley McBryde, Ingrid Andress and Little Big Town. "I feel like holding this right now, I'm holding it for all of us — especially us girls," she said in March 2021. "I'm very thankful for this." Scroll down for a look back at Lambert through the years: [podcast_block]

Credit: Shutterstock (2); Courtesy Miranda Lambert/Instagram

Miranda Lambert Through the Years: From ‘Nashville Star’ to Country Icon

Miranda Lambert has been unstoppable since she hit the music scene in 2003 as a contestant on Nashville Star. Since then, the country superstar has released seven solo albums, four albums with her group, Pistol Annies, and won countless awards for her undeniably catchy tunes. “I haven’t changed from Lindale at all,” she told Refinery29 in October 2019, referencing the Texas town where she was raised. “The only thing that has changed is that now I live in Nashville, I spend time in New York, and I have had a really amazing journey artistically so my career is on this path. Other than that, I’m still this same booze and jeans girl that I was before I left.” Lambert released her first album, Kerosene, in 2005. Six years later, she teamed up with fellow country singer-songwriters Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley to form Pistol Annies. The trio’s debut, Hell on Heels, hit stores soon after Lambert’s wedding to Blake Shelton. As her star continued to rise, the hitmaker’s personal life also became a hot topic. [jwplayer 9tMH9w0e-zhNYySv2] “I was a country singer in Nashville, and it was very comfy,” she told NPR in November 2019. “You had the right attention for the right reasons. And then the Hollywood thing came into the picture and it just threw me for a loop.” Lambert’s marriage to Shelton ended in 2015, and she had two more high-profile relationships — with Anderson East then Evan Felker — before marrying police officer Brendan McLoughlin in 2019. “I met the love of my life. And we got hitched!” she gushed on Instagram at the time. “My heart is full. Thank you Brendan Mcloughlin for loving me for…. me. #theone.” In 2021, the "Tin Man" singer released not one but two albums: The Marfa Tapes, a collaboration with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, and Hell of a Holiday, a Christmas album with the Pistol Annies. That same year, she also took home her second Grammy for Best Country Album for 2020's Wildcard. During her acceptance speech, she thanked her fellow nominees, all of whom were female artists or women-fronted groups: Brandy Clark, Ashley McBryde, Ingrid Andress and Little Big Town. "I feel like holding this right now, I'm holding it for all of us — especially us girls," she said in March 2021. "I'm very thankful for this." Scroll down for a look back at Lambert through the years: [podcast_block]

Credit: YouTube

2003

Lambert finished in third place on the USA Network reality singing competition in May 2003.

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2005

The Texas native released her debut album, Kerosene, in March 2005. All four of its singles reached the Top 40 on the Billboard Country Chart, with the title track peaking at No. 15.

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2007

Lambert’s sophomore album, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, came out in May 2007. It hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and won Album of the Year at the 2008 Academy of Country Music Awards. The disc included the singles “Famous in a Small Town,” “Gunpowder & Lead” and “More Like Her.”

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2009

The entertainer released her third album, Revolution, in September 2009. It included the singles “Dead Flowers,” “White Liar,” “The House That Built Me,” “Only Prettier” and “Heart Like Mine.” Revolution won Album of the Year at the 2010 ACM Awards and the Country Music Association Awards.

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2009

Lambert and her mother, Bev, founded the MuttNation Foundation in 2009. The nonprofit organization works to provide homes for rescue animals.

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2011

After five years of dating, Lambert tied the knot with Shelton at the Don Strange Ranch in Texas in May 2011. Their guests included Katherine Heigl, Josh Kelley, Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson.

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2011

Pistol Annies released their debut album, Hell on Heels, in August 2011, and it quickly shot to the top spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

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2011

The singer’s aptly titled fourth album, Four the Record, hit shelves in November 2011. It became her highest-charting to date when it reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. Its singles included “Baggage Claim,” “Over You,” “Fastest Girl in Town” and “All Kinds of Kinds.”

Credit: YouTube

2012

Lambert made her acting debut in February 2012 on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She played rape survivor Lacey Ford in the episode “Father’s Shadow.”

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2013

Pistol Annies’ second record, Annie Up, dropped in May 2013.

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2014

Lambert released her fifth album, Platinum, in June 2014. With the help of singles “Automatic” and the Carrie Underwood-featured “Somethin’ Bad,” it became her first No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and won Best Country Album at the 2015 Grammy Awards.

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2015

The performer and Shelton announced in July 2015 that they had split after four years of marriage. “This is not the future we envisioned. And it is with heavy hearts that we move forward separately,” they said in a statement to Us Weekly via their reps. “We are real people, with real lives, with real families, friends and colleagues. Therefore, we kindly ask for privacy and compassion concerning this very personal matter.”

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2015

Us broke the news in December 2015 that Lambert was dating East. She and the soul singer broke up in April 2018.

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2016

Lambert released a critically acclaimed double album titled The Weight of These Wings in November 2016, which was heavily inspired by her divorce from Shelton. It included one of her biggest hits to date, “Tin Man.”

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2018

Pistol Annies’ third album, Interstate Gospel, came out in November 2018. Like The Weight of These Wings, the single “Got My Name Changed Back” was influenced by Lambert’s divorce.

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2018

Lambert started dating Felker in April 2018 after his band, Turnpike Troubadours, opened for her on tour. A source told Us that Lambert was still seeing East when she got together with Felker, who filed for divorce from his wife, Staci Felker, in May 2018. Lambert and Evan’s romance ended that August.

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2019

The musician announced in February 2019 that she secretly married McLoughlin a month prior. The couple met in November 2018 on the set of Good Morning America, where the New York City Police Department officer was stationed as Lambert performed with Pistol Annies. McLoughlin welcomed a son named Landon with his ex Kaihla Rettinger three days after meeting his future wife.

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2019

Lambert released her seventh album, Wildcard, in November 2019. It featured the hit single “It All Comes Out in the Wash” and the Maren Morris-assisted “Way Too Pretty for Prison.”

Credit: Courtesy of Miranda Lambert/Instagram

2020

After Lambert was forced to postpone her Wildcard tour dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic and McLoughlin retired from the NYPD, the lovebirds bought a $112,000 Airstream trailer to travel around the U.S. “Just because I can’t travel and play shows doesn’t mean I can’t travel and make music. I have the most amazing travel companion, my husband,” she wrote via Instagram in May 2020.

Credit: Vevo

2020

The “Bluebird” songstress enlisted her husband to star in her “Settling Down” music video, which premiered in October 2020. “He’s really pretty,” she told fans during a YouTube Q&A. “I needed a video babe and he was there, so I mean, it just worked out.”

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2021

The "Holy Water" singer took home her third Grammy in March, winning Best Country Album for Wildcard. Two months later, she released The Marfa Tapes, a collaborative album featuring outtakes and reworks of previously recorded songs. Lambert said she thought she might not have gotten to release the project if the coronavirus pandemic hadn't forced her to take a break from touring. "Sometimes you write a bunch of songs that just disappear into this abyss of work tapes and demo land or whatever," she told Taste of Country in April. "And I think this year, people are ready to hear different types of versions of songs from artists they may already follow, or not. But I think last year gave me the freedom to do that."

Credit: Jay L Clendenin/Los Angeles Times/Shutterstock

2021

In October, Lambert released her second album of the year: a collection of holiday songs with the Pistol Annies. That same month, she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. "It is truly one of the greatest honors of my life," she wrote in an Instagram post reflecting on the milestone. "I am beyond grateful to join such an amazing group of women. I’m still processing this and will be for a long time. Being part of this kick ass club has lit a new fire in me to keep pushing to be better. To keep learning new things and to hold on tight to the grit and determination it takes to achieve your goals."