Charles Kelley | |
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 Kelley performing in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Charles Burgess Kelley (1981-09-11)September 11, 1981 (age 44) Augusta, Georgia, U.S. |
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| Years active | 2006–present |
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| Member of | Lady A |
Spouse | |
| Website | charleskelley |
Charles Burgess Kelley (born September 11, 1981) is an American country music singer who is the co-lead vocalist and founding member of the country music trioLady A, which was formed in 2006 and are signed toBig Machine Records.[1] He has also released two solo albums.
Kelley was born inAugusta, Georgia, the youngest of three sons of Gayle and Dr. John W. Kelley, a now retired cardiologist. He began his musical career at the age of 11. His older brother,Josh Kelley, is also a musician and singer. As teenagers, Charles, Josh and oldest brother John formed a band called Inside Blue; the band released a five-song CD that garnered the attention of a major label.[2] In middle school, Kelley metDave Haywood[3] and, at the age of 14, they wrote their first song. They both graduated fromLakeside High School inEvans, Georgia.
Kelley attended theUniversity of Georgia inAthens, Georgia, where he was a member of the Nu Zeta chapter of theLambda Chi Alpha fraternity.[4] He graduated in 2004 with a degree in finance.[5]
Before moving toNashville, Tennessee, in mid-2005 to pursue a musical career, Kelley worked in his brother John's construction business inWinston-Salem, North Carolina, as an accountant for an affiliated waste management company.[6] Kelley made the move after his brother Josh, who was apop musician at the time, bought a house in Nashville and convinced him to come live there so they could write songs together.[7]
Kelley,Hillary Scott, andDave Haywood founded the country music group Lady A as Lady Antebellum in 2006 and released theirdebut album in April 2008. The trio either wrote or co-wrote ten of the eleven songs on the album, which featured production byPaul Worley andVictoria Shaw. The album included the trio's debut hit, "Love Don't Live Here", along with the singles, "Lookin' for a Good Time" and "I Run to You", the latter of which became their first number one hit onBillboard'sHot Country Songs chart in July 2009. It was certifiedplatinum by theRIAA in October 2009. In 2008, they returned to Charles' and Dave's former high school alma mater, Lakeside High School, and performed a short concert in the gymnasium.
In January 2010, they released their sophomore album,Need You Now, which was led off by the five-week number one and crossover hit, "Need You Now". It also peaked at number two on the all-genreBillboard Hot 100 and is 6x certified Platinum. All three members of the band co-wrote eight of the eleven songs on the album and produced alongside Worley. The album generated the number one hits, "American Honey" and "Our Kind of Love", and the top 10 single, "Hello World", and was certified triple platinum in October 2010.
In May 2011, the group released "Just a Kiss" as the lead single from their third studio album,Own the Night, which was released on September 13, 2011, and became their fifth number one hit on the Hot Country Songs chart. "Just a Kiss" was 2x certified Platinum by the RIAA. It stayed on the Hot 100 for forty-two weeks. The second single "We Owned the Night" also became a number one hit and was certified Gold. The third single "Dancin' Away with My Heart" was also certified Gold and peaked at number two. "Wanted You More" was released as the fourth and final single from the album. It was their first single since "Lookin' For a Good Time" to miss the top 10. The band supported the album with their second headlining tour, theOwn the Night Tour which was also their first arena and world tour.
On October 22, 2012,On This Winter's Night, the band's first Christmas album was released. One of the tracks on the album "A Holly Jolly Christmas" was released to Country radio and AC radio. A music video for the single was made.
Shortly after the release ofOn This Winter's Night, they started working on their fifth studio album.Golden was released on May 7, 2013. "Downtown" was the album's first single and peaked at number two on Country radio and number one on the USCountry Airplay chart. It was certified platinum by the RIAA. The second single was "Goodbye Town". In late 2013, the deluxe editionre-issue ofGolden was released which included the third single "Compass". "Compass" was met with positive reviews and went number one on the Country Airplay chart. In 2014, the band toured the album on theTake Me Downtown Tour and sold-out shows every night.
In May 2014, "Bartender" was released as the first single off their sixth studio album. "Bartender" became their third number on the Country Airplay chart and is certified Platinum.747 was released on September 30, 2014. "Freestyle" and "Long Stretch of Love" are the second and third singles off747 respectively.
In October 2015, the group appeared onGood Morning America to announce they will be taking some down time after theirWheels Up Tour finishes.[8] They still continued to do shows together throughout 2016.
In January 2017, Lady Antebellum released "You Look Good", the lead single off their upcoming seventh studio albumHeart Break. The album will be released on June 9, 2017, and will support it on theYou Look Good Tour.[9]
In June 2020, the band announced they were changing their name to Lady A in light of the original name's Confederate origins.[10]
During the band's break, Kelley focused on a solo project and said that Lady Antebellum is his priority but he wanted to try working alone out. On September 28, 2015, he released his debut solo single "The Driver" which featuresDierks Bentley andEric Paslay. Kelley revealed onGMA that he started working on his solo project six months prior to his single's release.[8] "The Driver" received a Grammy nomination forBest Country Duo/Group Performance for the58th Annual Grammy Awards.[11] His solo debut studio albumThe Driver was released on February 5, 2016.[12] He released his second solo album,Songs for a New Moon on June 25, 2025.[13]
Kelley's other works consist of co-writing songs for other artists, mainly withLady Antebellum bandmate,Dave Haywood. One of those songs was "Do I" on labelmateLuke Bryan's 2009 album,Doin' My Thing.[14] Written in late 2008, the song was released to radio in April 2009 and peaked at No. 2 onBillboard'sHot Country Songs chart in December of that year.[15] The song also featured Lady Antebellum'sHillary Scott on background vocals.[14]
In 2006, prior to forming the band, Kelley released a solo album called2 to 9's. The record met with little mainstream success, but was well-rated by listeners.[16][deprecated source]
In 2009, Kelley and Haywood penned a song called "It's Only" forDanny Gokey's debut album,My Best Days, with "I Run to You" cowriter,Tom Douglas.[17] That same year, the two also wrote "Love Song" withBlake Shelton andMiranda Lambert, which Lambert would later record for her third studio album,Revolution, and Kelley would sing background on.[18]
In 2010, Kelley and Haywood wrote "Kiss Me Slowly" withWill Anderson, lead singer of thepop rock band,Parachute. The song made it on to Parachute's second studio album,The Way It Was, and was released toiTunes in the weeks leading up to the release of the album.[19] That same year, Kelley, along with Scott and Haywood, recorded a duet withMaroon 5 called "Out of Goodbyes" as Lady Antebellum. The song was included on Maroon 5's third studio album,Hands All Over, but was never released as a single.[20]
In addition, Kelley has co-written numerous songs for his brother,Josh Kelley. Those songs are "Just Say the Word" and "Pop Game" on Josh's 2006 album,Just Say the Word, which were written by the brothers with Haywood;[21] "Lift Me Up" and "Stay Awake" on 2008'sSpecial Company;[22] and "Georgia Clay" and "Ain't Lettin' Go" on his 2011 country debut,Georgia Clay.[23]
Kelley and Haywood co-wrote the semi-autobiographical track "Better Than This" on(Encore), the 2013 re-issue of rising country starHunter Hayes' self-titled debut album.[24]
Kelley is married to music rep Cassie McConnell. The couple wed in a Nashville courthouse in late June 2009 as a legal formality before having a destination wedding in theBahamas. After the wedding, Lady A tweeted a photo of Kelley showing off his wedding ring, saying, "What is that you see on Charles' hand... yep a wedding ring!!!" McConnell represents several country musicians, including her brother-in-law,Josh Kelley. Charles and Cassie wed on July 6, 2009. On August 7, 2015, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child in February 2016. On August 28, 2015, his wife Cassie appeared onGood Morning America to reveal her fertility struggle and also announced they were expecting a baby boy.[25][26][27] The couple welcomed their son, Ward on February 11, 2016.[28] In March 2025, Kelley and his wife announced that they were expecting their second child. Their second son, Archer was born on September 16, 2025.[29][30]
As a result of his brother Josh's marriage, Kelley is the brother in-law of actressKatherine Heigl.
Kelley had the lyrics, "All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise," from theBeatles song, "Blackbird", tattooed on his right forearm in early 2009.[31] In 2010, Kelley got a second tattoo, a design of the "flower of life", on his upper left arm.[citation needed]
In addition to being an avid golfer,[32] Kelley is a motorcycle enthusiast and owns a 2006Harley Softail Custom.[33]
In August 2022, Lady A announced that they were postponing their Request Line Tour to 2023 so that Kelley could focus on his sobriety.[34] On December 23, 2022, Kelley released "As Far As You Could", a song about his struggles with alcohol.[35]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | AUS | CAN | |||
| The Driver |
| 2 | 35 | 35 | 43 |
|
| Songs for a New Moon |
| |||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US AC [37] | US Country | US Country Airplay | ||||
| 2015 | "The Driver" (featuringDierks Bentley andEric Paslay) | — | 37 | 44 |
| The Driver |
| 2016 | "Lonely Girl" | — | — | 52 | ||
| 2022 | "Georgia On My Mind" | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "As Far as You Could" | — | — | — | |||
| 2025 | "Old Piano"(with Alyssa Bonagura) | — | — | — | ||
| "Can't Lose You"/"Here with Me" | 11 — | — — | — — | TBA | ||
| "Driving and Listening to Music"/"Run" | — — | — — | — — | |||
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | |||
| 2016 | "The Only One Who Gets Me" | 39 | The Driver |
| Year | Single | Artist | US Country Airplay | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | "Young Americans" | Colt Ford (withJosh Kelley) | — | Love Hope Faith |
| 2018 | "Straight to Hell" | Darius Rucker (withJason Aldean andLuke Bryan) | 40 | When Was the Last Time |
| 2024 | "How Do You Do That" | Karley Scott Collings (featuring Josh Kelley) | — | |
| 2025 | "Nothing On" | Kelleigh Brannen (featuring Josh Kelley) | — |
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "The Driver"[39] (featuringDierks Bentley andEric Paslay) | TK McKamy |
| 2016 | "Lonely Girl"[40] | Shaun Silva |
| 2017 | "Young Americans"(withJosh Kelley &Colt Ford) | Wayne Miller |
| 2018 | "Straight to Hell" (withDarius Rucker,Luke Bryan andJason Aldean) | TK McKamy |
Since Lady Antebellum won theCountry Music Association Awards New Artist of the Year award in 2008, they have accumulated seven more awards, including their firstGrammy in 2010 for Best Country Performance by Duo or Group with Vocals. At the 2009 CMA's, the group endedRascal Flatts' six-year reign as Vocal Group of the Year. At the 2010 CMA's, the group became the first artist in CMA Award history to receive the Single of the Year honor for two consecutive years.[41]
At the53rd Annual Grammy Awards, the trio won the Song of the Year.[42] They won Top Vocal Group at the 2012ACM Awards April 1, 2012.[43]
| Year | Awards | Award | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Grammy Awards[11] | Best Country Duo/Group Performance – "The Driver" (withDierks Bentley andEric Paslay) | Nominated |
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