Country Music Star Jamie O’Neal grew up with a microphone in her hand. The three-time Grammy nominee and award winning singer-songwriter is most comfortable on stage in front of a crowd where she has spent most of her life.
Country Music Star Jamie O’Neal grew up with a microphone in her hand. The three-time Grammy nominee and award winning singer-songwriter is most comfortable on stage in front of a crowd where she has spent most of her life.
O’Neal exploded onto the music scene in 2000 with the release of her first album, Shiver on Mercury Records. The first single, "There Is No Arizona" went to #1 on the charts and set a high standard for herself as both singer and songwriter. Her second release, the self-penned “When I Think About Angels” also went to #1 securing her spot as one of the industry’s most sought after performers.
Both titles earned her Grammy nominations as a songwriter for Country Song of the Year. In addition, "Arizona” brought a third Grammy nod for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. The Academy of Country Music named her the Top New Female Vocalist; Radio & Records awarded her with the #1 Most Valuable Female Country Artist and #1 Most Valuable New Country Artist. She has also taken honors for Billboard’s Top New Country Artist and Gavin’s Top Country Artist.
Her abounding talent, bright spirit, bubbly personality and infectious zest for life quickly established her as a standout in Nashville’s creative community. She became known as one of the industry’s most prolific songwriters and a premiere powerhouse vocalist. O’Neal writes songs with heart and intelligence and delivers them with a style all her own in what music critic, Alana Nash, described as "a Ferrari of a voice.”
That voice was just one of the many attributes that landed touring gigs with the likes of country music superstars Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson and Toby Keith. The big stages weren’t foreign to O’Neal having spent three years on the road as a backup vocalist for pop sensation Kylie Minogue before securing her own recording contract.
In addition to writing for her own projects, O’Neal has songs on albums by gospel recording artist Ce Ce Winans and LeAnn Rimes, wrote country superstar Martina McBride’s hit “How Far” and penned a song for the soundtrack for ABC’s hit series Desperate Housewives.
Her impressive list of vocal credits include jingles for such national brands as Dr. Pepper, Ford, Kraft and Toyota; voice-overs for Chevrolet and General Mills and songs on the soundtracks of Bridget Jones's Diary and When We Were Soldiers.
Australian born O’Neal has been on the road since the tender age of eight with her family’s band, living in a variety of locations including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville and Nashville. One of the most important experiences of her youth was the chance to open and perform on the same stage as artists like Johnny Cash, Crystal Gayle and Dolly Parton. With her eyes always focused on the entertainment industry, she took musical comedy and drama at Beverly Hills High alongside David Schwimmer, Jonathan Silverman and Joley Fisher.
After living in Nashville twice before, the third time was the charm. O’Neal moved for good in 1996. The city brought the first recording contract, the first album and her husband, Rodney Good. The couple married in August 2000, barely two months before the release of her first album, Shiver.
In June of 2003 O’Neal produced her most prized accomplishment with the birth of her first child, daughter Aliyah. Much of the more mature perspective heard in the new songs emerged. "Nearly everything changed once I became a mother; the way I felt about life and the way I looked at different things,” she says. “My writing has definitely changed, so a lot of my songs are geared toward the emotions of being a parent and raising a family and just looking at the world through a parent's eyes.” “I want to do things that matter and help make a difference in the world they are growing up in,” she said. O’Neal is a spokesperson and ambassador for Childhelp USA.
In 2005 she released her second album Brave on Capitol Records which spawned two additional chart toppers, “Trying to Find Atlantis” and “Somebody’s Hero.” She has seven videos to her credit and has appeared on many television shows including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, hosted GAC cable network’s Top 20 Countdown, Mothers Day and Memorial Days Specials along with making numerous appearances on the Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, Country Music Association Awards, Country Music Television Awards, CNN and MSNBC’s Entertainment Hot List.
O’Neal currently resides in Nashville with daughter Aliyah and husband Rodney Good. Her fifth gear work ethic keeps her performing on stages across the country, motivational speaking to women’s groups and devoting time to raising funds and awareness for children’s causes.
