Joe Nichols

==Musical career==
[[File:JoeNicholsApr10.jpg|thumb|right|Nichols in April 2010]]
Through a meeting with record producer Randy Edwards, Nichols began to work on his singing and songwriting skills. At age 19, he was signed to his first record deal, with an independent label known as [[Intersound Records]]. There, Nichols released his first album, 1996's ''[[Joe Nichols (album)|Joe Nichols]]''. Despite the minor success of its lead-off single "Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other" (which reached No.&nbsp;74 on the ''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'' country charts in [[Canada]]), the album sold poorly and he was dropped from Intersound's roster. A second record deal, this time with [[Giant Records (Warner Bros. subsidiary label)|Giant Records]], was short-lived and did not produce any singles or albums.<ref name="allmusic"/> After his short-lived record deals, he took many jobs in Nashville, including moving furniture, installing cable TV systems, and selling steaks door to door.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/nichols_joe/bio.jhtml|title=Joe Nichols Biography|work=CMT|access-date=2011-07-13}}</ref>

===1999–2003: ''Man with a Memory''===
In 1999, Nichols met [[Brent Rowan]], a [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] session guitarist who helped him land a recording contract with Universal South Records (which became [[Show Dog Nashville|Show Dog-Universal Music]] in December 2009). July 2002 was the release of his second album, entitled ''[[Man with a Memory]]''. Its lead-off single, "[[The Impossible (song)|The Impossible]]", became a No.&nbsp;3 hit on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now [[Hot Country Songs]]) charts, and was declared by ''Billboard'' as the tenth most-played country song of 2003.<ref name="allmusic"/> The same year, his debut album was re-issued under the title ''Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other''.<ref name="allmusic"/>

''Man with a Memory'' earned Nichols a Top New Male Vocalist award from the Academy of Country Music, as well as three [[Grammy Award]] nominations and platinum certification from the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA).<ref name="allmusic"/> Its second single, "[[Brokenheartsville]]", became his first No.&nbsp;1 hit on the ''Billboard'' country charts in 2003, while "[[She Only Smokes When She Drinks]]" and "Cool to Be a Fool" both reached Top 20.<ref name="allmusic"/> Also in 2003, Nichols received the [[Country Music Association]]'s Horizon Award.<ref name="whitburn"/>

===2004–2007: ''Revelation'', ''III'' and ''Real Things''===
Nichols spent most of 2004 on tour with [[Alan Jackson]]. In June of that year, he issued his third studio album, ''[[Revelation (Joe Nichols album)|Revelation]]''. It produced two Top Ten hits in "[[If Nobody Believed in You]]" and "[[What's a Guy Gotta Do]]", at No.&nbsp;10 and No.&nbsp;4 respectively. Later that same year, he also issued an album of Christmas music, entitled ''[[A Traditional Christmas]]''. Four of the tracks from this album received enough airplay to enter the country charts.

''[[III (Joe Nichols album)|III]]'' was Nichols' fourth album and was released in October 2005.<ref name="allmusic"/> Its lead-off single, "[[Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off]]," became his second ''Billboard'' Number One hit, and both the single and the album receiving Gold certifications from the [[RIAA]]. The album also produced the Top Ten hits "[[Size Matters (Someday)]]" and "[[I'll Wait for You (Joe Nichols song)|I'll Wait for You]]", at No.&nbsp;9 and No.&nbsp;7, respectively. In 2005, [[Anna Nicole Smith]] met Nichols at the [[Grand Ole Opry]] and she became a fan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1553643/joe-nichols-to-sing-at-anna-nicoles-funeral.jhtml |title=Joe Nichols to Sing at Anna Nicole's Funeral |website=CMT.com |date=2007-01-03 |access-date=2016-01-26}}</ref> After Smith's death, he performed two songs ("Wings of a Dove" and "I'll Wait for You") at her funeral service. Nichols joined [[Toby Keith]] on tours in both 2005 and 2006.

Nichols' fifth album, ''[[Real Things (Joe Nichols album)|Real Things]],'' was released in August 2007.<ref name="allmusic"/> Its two singles, [[Another Side of You]]" and "[[It Ain't No Crime]]," were both Top 20 country hits. The album also included a cover of "Let's Get Drunk and Fight," which Canadian singer [[Aaron Lines]] released as a single in 2008.

===2008–2011: ''Old Things New'' and ''It's All Good''===
Nichols released a new single, "Believers," to radio on March 27, 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicrow.com/2009/03/joe-nichols/|title=Joe Nichols|date=2007-03-29|work=Music Row|access-date=2009-06-03}}</ref> Written by Ashley Gorley, Wade Kirby and Bill Luther, it was the first single from his sixth album, ''[[Old Things New]]''. The song failed to reach the Top 20, reaching a peak of number 26. However, the album's second single, "[[Gimmie That Girl]]," became Nichols' third Number One hit on the country charts in May 2010. The album's third single, "[[The Shape I'm In (Joe Nichols song)|The Shape I'm In]]," was released in July 2010 and peaked at number 17 on the country charts.

Following a merger with his label and Show Dog Records, ''[[It's All Good (Joe Nichols album)|It's All Good]]'' was his seventh album released on November 8, 2011, via [[Show Dog Nashville|Show Dog-Universal Music]]. The album's only single "[[Take It Off (Joe Nichols song)|Take It Off]]" peaked at number 25 on the country charts, and Nichols parted ways with Show Dog-Universal in May 2012.<ref>[http://www.roughstock.com/blog/joe-nichols-and-show-dog-universal-part-ways ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605052151/http://www.roughstock.com/blog/joe-nichols-and-show-dog-universal-part-ways |date=June 5, 2012 }}</ref>

===2012–2015: ''Crickets''===
After parting ways with his longtime label, Nichols signed in October 2012 to Red Bow, a new partnership of [[Broken Bow Records]] and [[RED Distribution]].<ref name="roughstock1"/>

On April 22, 2013, "[[Sunny and 75]]" premiered exclusively online at [[AOL]]'s The Boot.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theboot.com/2013/04/22/joe-nichols-sunny-and-75/ |title=Joe Nichols, 'Sunny and 75′ – Exclusive Song Premiere |website=Theboot.com |date=22 April 2013 |access-date=2016-01-26}}</ref>  The song was available on [[iTunes]] May 7, 2013. On Monday, May 13, it was announced that the song had the biggest country radio add week of his entire career, with 52 first week adds.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.countrystandardtime.com/news/newsitem.asp?xid=7140 |title=Nichols sets PR for adds for new single |website=Countrystandardtime.com |date=2007-10-23 |access-date=2016-01-26}}</ref> It peaked at number one on the [[Country Airplay]] chart in December 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5812332/sunny-returns-joe-nichols-to-no-1-on-country-airplay-chart |title='Sunny' Returns Joe Nichols To No. 1 On Country Airplay Chart |publisher=Billboard |date=2013-12-03 |access-date=2016-01-26}}</ref> Nichols' eighth studio album, ''[[Crickets (Joe Nichols album)|Crickets]]'', was released on October 8, 2013.<ref>{{cite news|last=Whitaker|first=Sterling|title=Joe Nichols Reveals Cover Art, Release Date and Track Listing for New Album|url=http://theboot.com/joe-nichols-crickets-details/|access-date=August 26, 2013|newspaper=The Boot|date=August 26, 2013}}</ref> On January 9, 2014, it was announced that "Sunny and 75" was certified Gold by the RIAA for single sales in excess of 500,000 digital downloads.<ref>[http://joenichols.com/643-joe-hits-hot-gold-with-sunny-and-75 ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114102754/http://joenichols.com/643-joe-hits-hot-gold-with-sunny-and-75 |date=January 14, 2014 }}</ref> The album's second single, "[[Yeah (Joe Nichols song)|Yeah]]", was released to country radio on January 27, 2014. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in July 2014. The album's third single, "[[Hard to Be Cool]]", was released to country radio on September 1, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicrow.com/calendars-2/single-releases/ |title=Single Releases : MusicRow – Nashville's Music Industry Publication – News, Songs From Music City |website=Musicrow.com |date=2014-06-20 |access-date=2016-01-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212165034/http://www.musicrow.com/calendars-2/single-releases/ |archive-date=2014-02-12 }}</ref>

In 2014, he sang, together with [[Lucy Hale]], the song "Red Dress", which appears on her album, ''[[Road Between]]''.

===2015–2020: ''Never Gets Old''===
It was announced on Nichols' website that the lead single to his ninth studio album, titled "[[Freaks Like Me]]", would be released to digital retailers on September 18, 2015, and to radio on September 21, 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freakslikeme.com/ |title=Joe Nichols &#124; #FreaksLikeMe |website=Freakslikeme.com |access-date=2016-01-26}}</ref>  Nichols released the new single "Undone" on May 12, 2016<ref name="Undone">{{cite web|url=http://tasteofcountry.com/joe-nichols-undone/ |title=Joe Nichols, 'Undone' [Listen&#93; |website=Tasteofcountry.com |date=13 May 2016 |access-date=2020-04-03}}</ref>  and released his ninth studio album ''[[Never Gets Old]]'' on July 28, 2017, on Broken Bow Records. "Freaks Like Me" and "Undone" are not included on the new album. Joe parted ways with Broken Bow Music Group in August 2018.

===2021–present: ''Good Day for Living''===
On April 23, 2021, Nichols released his first new single in three years titled "Home Run". The song impacted country radio on May 10 under Quartz Hill.

Nichols' likeness, along the Quartz Hills Records logo, was featured on the #8 car of [[Tyler Reddick]] at [[NASCAR]]'s Goodyear 400 race at [[Darlington Raceway]] on May 9, 2021.

Nichols tenth studio album, ''Good Day for Living'' was released in February 2022.