1. Chely Wright has sold over 1,500,000 copies and 10,000,000 digital impressions to date in the United States.
79 Facts About Chely Wright
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Chely Wright moved to Nashville, Tennessee, following high school graduation and was cast in stage productions at the now-defunct Opryland USA amusement park.
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At her commercial zenith, Chely Wright continued living a closeted life and became increasingly unhappy.
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Chely Wright engaged in a long-term relationship with a woman but ultimately separated at the risk of being outed by members of the Nashville community.
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In 2006, Chely Wright began suffering an emotional collapse and nearly took her own life.
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Chely Wright then realized she needed to come out publicly and started working on projects that would help her come to terms with her homosexuality.
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In 2010, Chely Wright released the memoir, Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer, and the album, Lifted Off the Ground.
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Chely Wright became involved in LGBT activism following her 2010 decision.
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Chely Wright has since been a spokesperson for programs such as GLSEN.
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Chely Wright continued her music career, but transitioned more towards Americana and folk.
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Chely Wright has since released 2016's I Am the Rain and 2019's Revival.
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Chely Wright was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1970, and was raised in the nearby community of Wellsville, Kansas.
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Chely Wright was the youngest of three children born to Cheri and Stan Chely Wright.
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Chely Wright lived with her mother and two siblings in Ottawa, Kansas, before her mother and father reunited.
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Chely Wright had a strained relationship with her mother throughout her life.
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Chely Wright became interested in her Christian faith and convinced her mother to become baptized when she was six years old.
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Chely Wright discovered her homosexuality after noticing she had a crush on her third grade teacher.
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Chely Wright attempted to find other examples of people in her hometown who were homosexual, but had no luck.
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Chely Wright developed a passion for music at a young age.
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Chely Wright's father played acoustic guitar, while she often sang along.
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Chely Wright's mother kept handwritten lyrics to her favorite songs in a binder.
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Chely Wright began performing in a local venues during this period, such as VFW halls, picnics, bars and churches.
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Chely Wright began dating a college-aged man whom she met sitting in the audience of her shows.
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Chely Wright learned to sing as part of a vocal chorus and learned dance routines.
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Chely Wright found employment at a local sporting goods store.
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Chely Wright collaborated on her first album with Nashville producer, Harold Shedd.
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Chely Wright recalled in her memoir that she had low expectations of winning and was shocked to receive the accolade.
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In 1996, Chely Wright released her second album titled Right in the Middle of It.
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Free from her previous record label, Chely Wright made several changes to her career.
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Chely Wright began working with a new manager and a publicist, who helped secure her a contract with MCA Records Nashville.
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Chely Wright then contacted producer Tony Brown, who had previously made hit albums with Reba McEntire and Wynonna.
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Chely Wright celebrated the number one on the road with fellow band members, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney.
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Chely Wright composed the songs by herself, with help from Tim Nichols and Brad Paisley.
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Chely Wright served as the opening act on Paisley's 2000 tour.
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In 2001, Chely Wright embarked on "The Coca-Cola Hometown Hero Tour," a 30-date set of concerts and presented at the CMT Music Awards.
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Chely Wright made her acting debut the same year in the Disney film, Max Keeble's Big Move.
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In 2002, Chely Wright won the "Fashion Plate Award" from the CMT Flameworthy Awards.
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Chely Wright would be rated among People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" during this time as well.
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Chely Wright moved her recording career towards an independent direction.
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In late 2004, Chely Wright released the self-penned single, "The Bumper of My SUV".
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Chely Wright was inspired to write the song following a road-rage incident in which another driver was angry that Wright had a Marine Corps bumper sticker on her car.
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Chely Wright then went into a career hiatus after deciding to publicly come out to her record-buying public.
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Chely Wright started writing material which would later make up her next studio release titled Lifted Off the Ground.
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Chely Wright brought the album's material to artist and producer, Rodney Crowell, who encouraged Wright to record it.
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Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times believed Chely Wright could have challenged the country music establishment more rather than "tread lighty" in her songwriting material.
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Henry agreed to produce her and Chely Wright formed a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the record.
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Chely Wright first began her work with activism through music education.
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Chely Wright was inspired to help public schools following the Columbine High School massacre.
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Chely Wright holds a yearly concert for the organization in Nashville that has included numerous performers in its lineup.
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In 2002, Chely Wright received the National Association for Music Education's "FAME Award" in recognition of her accomplishments.
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Chely Wright has been involved in working with military members and veterans.
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Chely Wright has spoken out against the former American military policy, Don't ask, don't tell.
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Chely Wright became involved in LGBT activism following her decision to publicly come out in 2010.
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Chely Wright received notable attention in the LGBT community with the release of her 2010 memoir, Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer.
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The book was published by Random House, Inc The book described Chely Wright's rise to fame and struggle with being a closeted person in the country music industry.
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Shortly after coming out, Chely Wright performed at the 2010 Capitol Pride parade in Washington DC She made several national public television appearances to discuss her coming out story and LGBT rights on shows, including The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
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Chely Wright spoke out on CNN in 2010 to discuss the increased suicide rate by LGBT youth in the United States.
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In 2010, Chely Wright was named the National Spokesperson for the organization GLSEN.
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Chely Wright was named one of Out magazine's annual 100 People of the Year.
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In 2011, Chely Wright released a documentary chronicling her coming-out story titled Wish Me Away.
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In 2014, Chely Wright spoke on the stage of the GLAAD Media Awards to discuss anti-bullying legislation with fellow activist Marcel Neergaard.
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Chely Wright discussed her views against the laws on Twitter and on other social media platforms.
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In 2016, Chely Wright appeared on CNN encouraging the country music industry to be supportive of laws that protect transgender Americans in the state of Tennessee.
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In 2021, Chely Wright was announced as the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for the interior space company Unispace.
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Chely Wright has since formed collaborations with the Women's Business Enterprise National Council and the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council.
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Chely Wright helped inspire the creation of the 2022 book My Moment, which included stories from various female entertainers and their experiences with the MeToo movement.
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Chely Wright met Julia shortly after winning her first recording contract.
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The era of their relationship overlaps Chely Wright's rise to chart-topping stardom.
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In 1998, Chely Wright had a brief relationship with country artist Vince Gill.
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Chely Wright pointed a gun into her mouth, but changed her mind before pulling the trigger.
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In 2008, Chely Wright made the move from Nashville to New York City where she became more involved with the LGBT community.
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Chely Wright stated that she wanted to come out to free herself from the burdens of living a lie, to lend support to LGBT youth, and to dismantle the notion that being gay is immoral.
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Chely Wright found new fans that discovered her through the LGBT community and through social media platforms.
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Chely Wright lost a significant chunk of her fan base and her record sales dropped in half.
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Two weeks after publicly coming out, Chely Wright met fellow LGBT activist and Sony Music marketing director Lauren Blitzer.
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On January 23,2013, the couple announced that Chely Wright was expecting identical twins.
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In May 2013, Chely Wright gave birth to two twin boys named George and Everett.
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Chely Wright made the news public a year later to help encourage other people to seek medical attention if they notice similar symptoms.
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Chely Wright has received several awards and nominations for her work.