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Biography
BLP sources|date=July 2010Infobox musical artist|name = Kimberley Locke|image = Kimberley Locke At Gracie Awards crop.jpg|caption = Locke in May 2011|background = solo_singer|birth_name = KimberleyDawn Locke|alias = Kim Locke|birth_date = birth date and age|mf=yes|1978|1|3|birth_place = Hartsville, Tennessee |origin = Nashville, Tennessee , United States |genre = Adult Contemporary|AC , Rhythm and blues|R& B , Pop music|pop , Electronic dance music|dance |occupation = Singer-songwriter , model (person)|model |years_active = 2003–present (singing) 2005–present (modeling)|label = Curb Records|Curb (2003-09) Dream Merchant 21 (2010) I AM Entertainment (2011-Present) http://fmqb.com/Article.asp? id=2184099 "Kimberly Locke Forms I AM Entertainment", FMQB.com, May 11, 2011|associated_acts = Randy Jackson http://content.usatoday.com/communities/idolchatter/post/2010/05/randy-jackson-and-kimberley-locke-become-dance-partners/1|website = http://www.kimberleylockeofficial.comKimberleyDawn Locke (born January 3, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter and model (person)|model . She has recorded in the Dance music|dance , Pop music|pop and adult contemporary music genres.
Locke gained fame with her participation in the 2003 American Idol television series, and in 2007 garnered media attention for her participation in Celebrity Fit Club (US TV series)|Celebrity Fit Club .
Early life
Locke was born in Hartsville, Tennessee|Hartsville , Tennessee , to Donald and Christine Locke, and is the second of two children, with an older brother named Ashley. She and her brother spent most of their life in Gallatin. At age five, Locke began singing in church (building)|church . Her parents divorced when she was eight years old.
Locke grew up admiring such singers as Janet Jackson , Whitney Houston , Patti LaBelle and Diana Ross . In 1987, she and childhood friends Chandra Boone, Selina Robb, and NaCole Rice formed a quartet named Shadz of U, which performed at many local churches. The group later appeared on Locke's 2007 Based on a True Story (Kimberley Locke album)| Based on a True Story album, singing backup on Everyday Angels.
Locke went to Gallatin High School (Tennessee)|Gallatin High School , where she was one of sixteen members to participate in its performing group. She remained in the group throughout her high school years. She was also selected twice as a member of the All-Middle State Chorus. After graduating, she began to work for a company in Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville as an administrative assistant.
Like 2007 American Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle , Locke is an alumna of Belmont University in Nashville.
American Idol and singing career
On October 30, 2002, the reality TV singing competition American Idol held auditions in Nashville, Tennessee for the show's second season. Locke successfully passed through to the next round, and in December was chosen to perform on the show. She finished third, behind winner Ruben Studdard and runnerup Clay Aiken . She has since been invited back to the show to perform twice (seasons 3 and 7).
Locke went on to sign a record deal with Curb Records on September 6, 2003. Her debut album, One Love (Kimberley Locke album)|One Love , was released May 4, 2004. Debut single " 8th World Wonder " reached the top half of the Billboard Hot 100 and was successful on other charts, and entered the UK charts. " Wrong (Kimberley Locke song)|Wrong " and " I Could " followed as singles.
Locke released her version of " Up on the House Top " in the autumn of 2005 and by the end of year, it had reached the top spot of the Adult Contemporary (A/C) charts. The following year, Locke's version of " Jingle Bells " was released and topped the same charts. A full Christmas album entitled Christmas (Kimberley Locke album)|Christmas & mdash; only available digitally & mdash; was released on November 6, 2007. Locke's second album, Based on a True Story (Kimberley Locke album)|Based on a True Story , was released on May 1, 2007. The album's original lead single, " Supawoman ," co-written with her producers Damon Sharpe and Mark J. Feist, was released to radio on August 7, 2006. " Change (Kimberley Locke song)|Change ," was released to radio on January 15, 2007. The album's next single was a cover of Freda Payne 's " Band of Gold (Freda Payne song)|Band of Gold ," which was released to radio on August 13, 2007, and became Locke's sixth solo A/C Top 10 hit. The album's third single," Fall (Clay Walker song)|Fall ," co-written by Clay Mills and also recorded by country music artist Clay Walker , was released to radio in February 2008. All three singles from this album hit number one on the Billboard dance club chart.
After parting ways with Curb Records in 2009, Locke went on to be the first artist to sign a deal with Randy Jackson 's Dream Merchant 21 record label http://hiphollywood.com/hipheadlines/2010/3/5/kimberley-locke-harvey-walden-split.html "Kimberley Locke & Harvey Walden Split", HipHollywood.com, March 5, 2010 http://musicindustryreport.org/? p=21171 "Randy Jackson Launches New Dance Label And Announces First Artist - Kimberley Locke", Music Industry Report, May 5, 2010 and recorded the single " Strobelight (Kimberley Locke song)|Strobelight ", which was released April 6, 2010. http://www.kimberleylockeofficial.com "Kimberley Locke Official", retrieved March 5, 2010 as part of the "singles only" agreement about which Locke stated, "We live in a world where people go to iTunes and download the songs they want. http://www.plusmodelmag.com/General/plus-model-magazine-article-detail.asp? article-id=307821535& page=2 "Kimberly Locke Dishes On Life After Idol And Her New Single Strobelight", Plus Model Magazine, April, 2010"
In 2011, Locke issued a press release announcing her new entertainment company called I AM Entertainment . Her first independent release through her new company was her danced-themed EP album, "Four for the Floor", which was released on July 19, 2011.Citation needed|date=January 2012 On November 1, 2011 Locke released a cover of Silver Bells which was accompanied by an I AM Entertainment produced music video http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=nXaKlPxL6d4 "Kimberley Locke - Silver Bells (Official Music Video", December 20, 2011. During the summer of 2011, fans chose via a Facebook voting campaign, http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/91231/kimberley-locke-lets-facebook-fans-choose-next-sin "Kimberley Locke Let Facebook Fans Choose Next Single", AllAcess.com, May 10, 2011 which would be Locke's next single. The winning song was "Finally Free" which is slated to be released with a full remix package in 2012 http://www.kimberleylockeofficial.com/bio.shtml "Kimberley Locke Official Biography", retrieved January 6, 2012.
US Sales: 212,000Mansfield, Brian http://content.usatoday.com/communities/idolchatter/post/2008/01/43971186/1 "The Ultimate SoundScan Sales/Download Checklist", USA Today, January 10, 2008
2007
Based On A True Story
Second studio album
Released: May 1, 2007
Label: Curb/ EMI
Format: Compact disc|CD
160
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181
US Sales: 22,000Mansfield, Brian http://content.usatoday.com/communities/idolchatter/post/2008/07/53515520/1 "Idol Presence on Album Chart Back Down to 3", USA Today, July 30, 2008
Christmas
Holiday album
Released: November 6, 2007
Label: Curb
Format: Music download|Digital
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US Sales: 3,000Barnes, Ken. http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/2008/12/idols-on-the-al.html#more "Idols On The Album Chart", USA Today, December 10, 2008.
" Silver Bells " http:/ / blog.kimberleylockeofficial.com/ 2011/ 11/ new-single-silver-bells-available-now.html "New Single Available: Single Bells" KimberleyLockeOfficial.com, November 2, 2011
2003: "Ammon" - New Blues Sessions (backing vocals)
2003: "Over the Rainbow" (American Idol Season 2: All Time Classic American Love Songs)
2003: "God Bless the USA" (along with the other Idols of AI2) (American Idol Season 2: All Time Classic American Love Songs)
2003: "What the World Needs Now" (along with the other Idols of AI2) (American Idol Season 2: All Time Classic American Love Songs)
2003: "The Christmas Song" (American Idol: The Great Holiday Classics)
2003: "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (Group performance) (American Idol: The Great Holiday Classics)
2003: "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (Group performance) (American Idol: The Great Holiday Classics)
2005: "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" ( DisneyMania 3 )
2005: "Wishes" (duet with Peabo Bryson ) (Wishes)
2005: "Better Than This" ( The Perfect Man movie soundtrack)
2005: " Come Together Now " (Multi-artist charity single) (Come Together Now Collaborative)
2007: " Please Come Home for Christmas " (with Dave Koz on his Memories of a Winter's Night album)
2009: "Let the Fire Burn Hot" ( Camille (2007 film)|Camille movie soundtrack)
2009: "Lay Down in My Love" ( Camille (2007 film)|Camille movie soundtrack)
2010: " Spanish Guitar (song)|Spanish Guitar " (with Roni Benise|Benise on his 'Spanish Guitar' album)
Television career
Whilst pursuing her music career, Locke was also interested in becoming a television star. Since 2005, Locke has featured on many television shows.
In August 2004, Locke was invited to be a guest host on Good Day Live , and was invited back to co-host twice more. In 2005, she was a contestant on the game show, Family Feud , and she hosted Word Slam! , a Game Show Network|GSN live game show; an accompanying documentary with Locke aired on that cable channel that September. Throughout the summer of 2005, a proposed reality TV|reality TV series , ''Aren't You That Girl? '', taped Locke's progress on her second album and preparations for her upcoming wedding. The engagement was later called off and the project was cancelled.Stiletto Entertainment http://www.celebrityspider.com/news/june05/article062905-8.html "Kimberley Locke Models For Lane Bryant", June 29, 2005. During MTV 's early fall 2006 lineup, Locke was a judge and co-host on the short lived reality-show competition " Little Talent Show ".
Locke sat in as a guest co-host of The View (U.S. TV series)|The View in March 2007. In April 2008, she also appeared on " Don't Forget the Lyrics! " with her winnings to benefit Camp Heartland. She was the first contestant in the history of the show to attempt the million dollar song. Although unsuccessful, she was awarded $100,000 for ranking so well. Locke vowed she would raise the $400,000 she lost when she unsuccessfully attempted to win the million dollars.
On June 24, 2009, Locke became one of the hosts of the talent show Gospel Dream 2009 on Gospel Music Channel .
On September 11, 2010, Locke appeared on Celebrity Ghost Stories
Celebrity Fit Club: Men vs. Women
In November 2006, VH1 issued a press release confirming that Locke would be a participant on the fifth season of Celebrity Fit Club (US TV Series)|Celebrity Fit Club , which had just begun filming and would continue through March 2007. The show began airing on April 22, 2007. She has been the focused target of derision from fellow cast member Dustin Diamond , who has repeatedly called her "a loser on another show American Idol ." Later, he says, "She is a nobody...If there were eight of her here, nobody would watch the show." She responded on-camera at a weigh-in ceremony, "Two-faced, backstabbing people who will smile in your face one day and eat you up the next. That's why I don't have anything to do with you...If you even fucking look at me, Dustin. Because you talk about losers? Let's talk about 'I'm a fucking child star. Now I've got a porn tape on TV and selling T-shirts to pay for my house note.'" He later walked off the stage. He later offered her a sex toy in the shape of his penis , saying that she "needed one." The ensuing argument caused all other contestants to leave the stage.Ho, Rodney http://www.myajc.com/idolblog "Kelly, charts, Fit Club", The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Idol Blog , May 9, 2007. On June 17, 2007, the season finale of Celebrity Fit Club aired, drawing in 2.7 million viewers, the show's highest yet.
Modeling career & weight loss
From 2005 through September 2006, Locke was signed with Ford Models ' 14+ Division. She has appeared on the covers of the July 2005 issue of Figure (magazine)|Figure magazine and the summer 2007 issue of UneQ magazine. She has also been a former spokesperson for Lane Bryant and Seven7 Jeans.
While filming for Celebrity Fit Club , Kimberley chose to follow the Jenny Craig diet plan and had great success. In December 2006, Locke was offered a deal as spokeswoman with Jenny Craig.Extra http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2006/12/kimberly_lockes_new_years_reso.html "Kimberley Locke's New Years Resolution" December 22, 2006 At the completion of filming for the show, Kimberley weighed in at a final weight of 149& nbsp;lbs; down a total of 27& nbsp;lbs. from her original start weight of 176& nbsp;lbs. A feature in the September 10th issue of People (magazine)|People Magazine shows Kimberley at 141& nbsp;lbs., only 3 pounds away from her goal. Locke announced through her official MySpace blog on October 8, 2007 that she had finally achieved her 40 pound weight loss goal.
In January 2008, Kimberley was featured as the centerfold of Us Weekly 's "Diets That Work" issue. The feature counted down the top five celebrity diets of 2007, with Kimberley being named the winner.O'Neill, Jennifer "The Us Diet Winners!", Us Weekly, January 14, 2008 p.54 Ellen DeGeneres was so personally blown away by the feature that she asked Kimberley to be a special guest on an upcoming episode of her popular daytime talk show. The episode taped on January 10, 2008 and aired the following day.
Business career
In 1999, Locke enrolled at Belmont University and graduated in August 2001 with a Bachelor's degree of Business Administration in Management. In December 2006, Locke, with partners Eric Kupferberg, Liam Harvey and Jim Stake, opened the Croton Creek Steakhouse & Wine Bar, located in Croton Falls, New York.
In 2011, Kimberley announced she had founded her own entertainment company called I AM Entertainment.
Charitable work
Locke has been active in many charities, particularly in raising awareness of HIV/AIDS and Breast cancer . Locke's first exposure to working with children living with HIV/AIDS was through her work with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation , which sent her on an 11 day trip through Africa. She then went on to work with other organizations such as YouthAIDS, the Davy Foundation and Camp Heartland. In recognition of her extensive charitable efforts as an HIV/AIDS activist, Locke was presented with the Red Ribbon award on November 9, 2007. "The Red Ribbon Award is done for someone in the community that advocates AIDS awareness, and especially HIV awareness," said press liaison Chris Prouty. "They want to pinpoint one specific person and get the community involved in the accolades and a congratulatory celebration." At a news conference prior to her performance that night, Locke gave an acceptance speech. "All the kids at Camp Heartland have a great story, and that's what I've chosen to be a part of. It's the old cliché: kids are our future."Larson, Kris. http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php? sec=news& article=2440 "Locke 'Sparkles' at Benefit", Bay Area Reporter, November 15, 2007. She appeared on a Celebrity episode of Don't Forget The Lyrics to raise money for Camp Heartland, walking away with $100,000 for her charity. In March 2010, Kimberley was voted onto Camp Heartland's board of directors.
In October 2007, Locke teamed up with General Mills to introduce the 'Pink For A Cure' campaign to promote awareness of breast cancer in the African-American community. "My aunt is a breast cancer survivor. So, as someone whose family has been directly touched by this disease, I'm very passionate about getting people talking more about their health," said Locke.Popdirt.com http://popdirt.com/modules.php? name=News& file=article& sid=64788 "Kimberley Locke Joins the Pink Together Cause", October 4, 2007.
Locke is also a member of the Entertainment Council of Feeding America , the nation's leading hunger-relief organization. http://feedingamerica.org/partners/entertainment-council.aspx
Videography
" 8th World Wonder " (2004) directed by Sam Erickson.
" Change (Kimberley Locke song)|Change " (2007) directed by Roman White.
" Silver Bells " (2011) directed by Adam Bergey and Eric Baldetti.
Awards and nominations
New Music Awards
2005: Nominated - Female Adult Contemporary Artist Of The Year
Teen Choice Awards
2003: Nominated - Choice TV Reality/Variety Star - Female
2004: Nominated - Favorite Love Song - " 8th World Wonder "
See also
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
References
Reflist
External links
commons category
MySpace|kimberleylocke|Kimberley Locke
IMDB name|1334752
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Kimberley+Locke Kimberley Locke discography at Discogs .
AI contestant|2|kimberley_locke|Kimberley Locke
Kimberley LockeAmerican Idol 2American Idol 3rd placesCFC US Persondata | NAME =Locke, Kimberley | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =January 3, 1978 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Hartsville, Tennessee | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Locke, Kimberley Category:1978 births Category:American dance musicians Category:American female models Category:American female singers Category:American Idol participants Category:American pop singers Category:Belmont University alumni Category:Celebrity Fit Club participants Category:Curb Records artists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Tennessee Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee Category:Plus-size models
