Kimberley Locke

Tennessee served as the birthplace and childhood home for Kimberley Locke, who began singing both during church services and simply for enjoyment. By the time she reached high school she had joined the school's singing and performance ensemble. She later enrolled at Nashville's Belmont University to study business and performed with several local bands until friends and family urged her to audition for the 2003 season of American Idol. Locke advanced far enough to share the semifinalist spotlight with Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard, yet she was eliminated before the finals. The experience still earned her a place on the show's subsequent tour, which in turn secured a recording contract with Curb. Her debut single, "8th World Wonder," surfaced in March 2004, and May brought the album One Love, whose tracks offered a comfortable blend of light pop, contemporary R&B, and adult contemporary ballads. Based on a True Story appeared in 2007.