Rissi Palmer

Rissi Palmer entered the country-pop arena in 2007 via her upbeat debut single "Country Girl." Much of her teenage years unfolded in St. Louis, MO, where appearances in multiple talent contests, among them Hal Jackson's Talented Teens, secured her a publishing agreement with Song Planet at age 20. A talent scout for Star Search discovered her during a New York performance, leading the then-21-year-old vocalist to join the program's 2003 season. She finished third in the finale, after which Star Search judge Naomi Judd took her under her wing; Judd's manager later arranged Palmer's inclusion in Waiting in the Wings, the CMT series focused on African-Americans working in country music. Shortly thereafter she signed with 1720 Entertainment. That same summer the clip for her initial release, "Country Girl," began airing on CMT while climbing into the MySpace Top Ten.