Chuck Wicks
Encyclopedia
Charles Elliott "Chuck" Wicks (born June 20, 1979 in Smyrna, Delaware
) is an American country music
artist. He was one of the participants on the American reality
series Nashville
, which aired on Fox Networks for two episodes before its cancellation in mid-2007. In late 2007, he signed to RCA Records
Nashville as a recording artist, with his debut single "Stealing Cinderella
" being released in September of that year. It served as the lead-off to his debut album Starting Now
, which was released in January 2008. "All I Ever Wanted" and "Man of the House" were released as the album's second and third singles, respectively, and both have charted in the Top 40 as well.
. In January 2009, his charity concert in his hometown of Smyrna
raised $25,000 for the Smyrna-Clayton Boys and Girls Club.
In August 2008, Wicks began dating fellow country singer Julianne Hough
, who is a professional dancer and two-time champion on Dancing with the Stars. Wicks and Hough competed as a couple on the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars. Their first performance took place on March 9, 2009, and he was eliminated from the show on April 28. They announced a mutual break-up on November 10, 2009.
after quitting college two classes short of graduation from Florida Southern College
. He then began to hone his songwriting skills, penning more than one hundred songs per year at one point, and one of his songs, "Lead Me On", was recorded by Steve Holy
on his 2006 album Brand New Girlfriend. Eventually, Wicks caught the attention of RCA Records
executives, who signed him to a recording contract in late 2007. While he was working on his debut album, Wicks was also picked as a cast member for Fox Networks' reality TV series Nashville
. Due to poor ratings, however, Nashville was canceled after its second episode.
", which he co-wrote with George Teren and Rivers Rutherford
. He debuted the song at his first Grand Ole Opry
appearance in August 2007. Shortly after the song's release, University of Tennessee
football coach Phillip Fulmer heard it. Fulmer said the song "hit [him] like a ton of bricks," so he contacted Wicks, arranging a private performance at his daughter Courtney's wedding.
The single produced the biggest debut for any new country artist in all of 2007, with fifty-two of the stations on Billboard
s survey adding it in its first official week of airplay. It was also the fastest-climbing debut country single in 2007, reaching a peak of number 5 on the country charts in January, and 56 on the Billboard Hot 100
. The song was included on Wicks' debut album Starting Now
, which was released on January 22, 2008 and peaked at 7 on the Top Country Albums charts. Wicks co-wrote all but one of the album's tracks. "All I Ever Wanted" was released in April 2008 as the album's second single, and peaked at 14 by the end of the year. A third single, "Man of the House", followed in January 2009, entering Top 40 in February, and peaked at 27.
chart for the chart week of June 5, 2010. It was followed by "Old School", which made number 51 on the same chart before Wicks exited the label in January 2011. The song remained on the charts after Wicks' departure from the label, and CO5 Music began promoting it in late January 2011.
Smyrna, Delaware
Smyrna is a town in Kent and New Castle counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area...
) is an American country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artist. He was one of the participants on the American reality
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series Nashville
Nashville (TV series)
Nashville is an American reality television/soap opera series featuring several aspiring country music artists. The show, which was based in Nashville, Tennessee, aired on Fox Broadcasting Company for two episodes prior to its cancellation.-Reception:...
, which aired on Fox Networks for two episodes before its cancellation in mid-2007. In late 2007, he signed to RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
Nashville as a recording artist, with his debut single "Stealing Cinderella
Stealing Cinderella
"Stealing Cinderella" is the debut single of American country music artist Chuck Wicks. Released in September of 2007, the single was co-written by Wicks along with songwriters George Teren and Rivers Rutherford...
" being released in September of that year. It served as the lead-off to his debut album Starting Now
Starting Now
Starting Now is the debut album of American country music artist Chuck Wicks. It was released on January 22, 2008. The album debuted at number 24 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 20,000 copies in its first week...
, which was released in January 2008. "All I Ever Wanted" and "Man of the House" were released as the album's second and third singles, respectively, and both have charted in the Top 40 as well.
Personal life
Chuck Wicks was raised on a potato farm in the community of Smyrna, DelawareSmyrna, Delaware
Smyrna is a town in Kent and New Castle counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. In January 2009, his charity concert in his hometown of Smyrna
Smyrna, Delaware
Smyrna is a town in Kent and New Castle counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area...
raised $25,000 for the Smyrna-Clayton Boys and Girls Club.
In August 2008, Wicks began dating fellow country singer Julianne Hough
Julianne Hough
Julianne Alexandra Hough is an American professional ballroom dancer, country music singer and actress. She is most widely known for being a two-time champion of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. She earned a Creative Arts Primetime Emmy nomination in 2007 for choreography...
, who is a professional dancer and two-time champion on Dancing with the Stars. Wicks and Hough competed as a couple on the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars. Their first performance took place on March 9, 2009, and he was eliminated from the show on April 28. They announced a mutual break-up on November 10, 2009.
Music career
Wanting to pursue a career in country music, he moved to Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
after quitting college two classes short of graduation from Florida Southern College
Florida Southern College
Florida Southern College is a private college located in Lakeland, Florida, United States. It was selected by U.S...
. He then began to hone his songwriting skills, penning more than one hundred songs per year at one point, and one of his songs, "Lead Me On", was recorded by Steve Holy
Steve Holy
Steve Holy is an American country music artist. Signed to Curb Records since 1999, he has released three studio albums: 2000's Blue Moon 2006's Brand New Girlfriend and 2011's Love Don't Run...
on his 2006 album Brand New Girlfriend. Eventually, Wicks caught the attention of RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
executives, who signed him to a recording contract in late 2007. While he was working on his debut album, Wicks was also picked as a cast member for Fox Networks' reality TV series Nashville
Nashville (TV series)
Nashville is an American reality television/soap opera series featuring several aspiring country music artists. The show, which was based in Nashville, Tennessee, aired on Fox Broadcasting Company for two episodes prior to its cancellation.-Reception:...
. Due to poor ratings, however, Nashville was canceled after its second episode.
Debut album: Starting Now (2007–2009)
RCA then released Wicks' debut single, "Stealing CinderellaStealing Cinderella
"Stealing Cinderella" is the debut single of American country music artist Chuck Wicks. Released in September of 2007, the single was co-written by Wicks along with songwriters George Teren and Rivers Rutherford...
", which he co-wrote with George Teren and Rivers Rutherford
Rivers Rutherford
Rivers Rutherford is an American country music songwriter. Active since the mid-1990s as a songwriter, he has penned several Number One country hits, including "Ain't Nothing 'bout You" by Brooks & Dunn, which was the Number One country song of 2001 according to Billboard...
. He debuted the song at his first Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
appearance in August 2007. Shortly after the song's release, University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
football coach Phillip Fulmer heard it. Fulmer said the song "hit [him] like a ton of bricks," so he contacted Wicks, arranging a private performance at his daughter Courtney's wedding.
The single produced the biggest debut for any new country artist in all of 2007, with fifty-two of the stations on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s survey adding it in its first official week of airplay. It was also the fastest-climbing debut country single in 2007, reaching a peak of number 5 on the country charts in January, and 56 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The song was included on Wicks' debut album Starting Now
Starting Now
Starting Now is the debut album of American country music artist Chuck Wicks. It was released on January 22, 2008. The album debuted at number 24 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 20,000 copies in its first week...
, which was released on January 22, 2008 and peaked at 7 on the Top Country Albums charts. Wicks co-wrote all but one of the album's tracks. "All I Ever Wanted" was released in April 2008 as the album's second single, and peaked at 14 by the end of the year. A third single, "Man of the House", followed in January 2009, entering Top 40 in February, and peaked at 27.
2010–2011
On November 10, 2009, Wicks announced that he has started to work on his second album. The album's first single, "Hold That Thought," was released on May 17, 2010, and debuted at number 55 on the Hot Country SongsHot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart for the chart week of June 5, 2010. It was followed by "Old School", which made number 51 on the same chart before Wicks exited the label in January 2011. The song remained on the charts after Wicks' departure from the label, and CO5 Music began promoting it in late January 2011.
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
||
| Starting Now Starting Now Starting Now is the debut album of American country music artist Chuck Wicks. It was released on January 22, 2008. The album debuted at number 24 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 20,000 copies in its first week... |
|
7 | 24 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
CAN Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
|||
| 2007 | "Stealing Cinderella Stealing Cinderella "Stealing Cinderella" is the debut single of American country music artist Chuck Wicks. Released in September of 2007, the single was co-written by Wicks along with songwriters George Teren and Rivers Rutherford... " |
5 | 56 | 81 | Starting Now |
| 2008 | "All I Ever Wanted" | 14 | 86 | — | |
| 2009 | "Man of the House" | 27 | — | — | |
| 2010 | "Hold That Thought" | 42 | — | — | TBD |
| "Old School" | 43 | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Stealing Cinderella" | Kristin Barlowe |
| 2008 | "All I Ever Wanted" | |
| 2010 | "Hold That Thought" | |
| 2011 | "Old School" | Marcel Marcel (singer) Marcel Francois Chagnon is an American country music singer and songwriter known by the singular name Marcel. Signed to Mercury Nashville Records in 2003, he released his debut album You, Me, and the Windshield that year and charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts with the single "Country... |
Filmography
| Television | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2007 | Nashville Nashville (TV series) Nashville is an American reality television/soap opera series featuring several aspiring country music artists. The show, which was based in Nashville, Tennessee, aired on Fox Broadcasting Company for two episodes prior to its cancellation.-Reception:... |
Himself |
|
| 2008 | Dinner: Impossible Dinner: Impossible Dinner: Impossible is an American television program broadcast by the Food Network. The first episode aired on January 24, 2007. Food Network began airing the eighth season on March 3, 2010.... |
Himself |
|
| 2009 | Dancing with the Stars Dancing with the Stars (U.S. season 8) The eighth season of Dancing with the Stars premiered on Monday, March 9, 2009, as part of ABC's spring line-up. The show generally followed the format of previous seasons, with 13 couples, although there were some changes, including two new dances , and an occasional dance-off between the bottom... |
Himself |
|
| 2010 | The Country Vibe with Chuck and Becca | Himself |
|