For the first time since her husband's death last year, Kellie Pickler returned to the stage Monday night to perform at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium for a Patsy Cline tribute concert.
“I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't incredibly nervous right now,” Pickler said when she took the stage. “It's the first time I've been on stage in a while.”
Kyle Jacobs, songwriter/producer and Pickler's husband of 12 years, committed suicide in February 2023. He was 49 years old.
On Monday night, according to a TikTok video posted by Music Mayhem magazine, Pickler performed her song “The Woman I Am,” from her 2013 self-titled album, which she co-wrote with Jacobs.
“My husband and I wrote this song together, oh my god, a decade ago,” Pickler said on stage. “The last time I was here at the Ryman Auditorium was with him on a date night, and I know he's here with us tonight.”
Watch Pickler's return to the stage below:
Jacobs' songwriting included Garth Brooks' Hot Country Songs chart-topper “More Than a Memory,” as well as songs recorded by Trace Adkins, Clay Walker and others. Jacobs also produced several Lee Brice hits, including “I Drive Your Truck,” “Hard to Love,” “Rumor” and “Drinking Class,” and was a producer on Brice's 2020 album Hello World.
Jacobs and Pickler married in January 2011 and previously starred together on the reality show I love Kellie Pickler. Pickler competed American Idol in 2006 and peaked at number six, later scoring a Top 10 Country Airplay hit with “Best Days of Your Life”.
Pickler broke her silence following Jacobs' death in a statement to People magazine last August, writing: “One of the most beautiful lessons my husband taught me was in a moment of crisis, if you don't know what to do, 'Do nothing, just stand still.' I chose to listen to his advice.”
If you are thinking about suicide or are worried about a friend or loved one, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, on 988.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/kellie-pickler-performs-first-time-husband-death-kyle-jacobs-1235664651/
