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Brantley Gilbert seems to be enjoying his newfound place at the mainstream country table. His album sales for Halfway To Heaven, Gilbert's first major label album, peaked at number four on the Billboard Top 200 charts and has already sold over a half million copies. He has been linked romantically to TV actress and Country music starlet Jana Kramer, and his fan base is growing by leaps and bounds. Not a bad start for a young Georgia boy breaking into the Nashville boys club of Country Music.
Halfway to Heaven is not Gilbert's only album to date. In 2009 he released Modern Day Prodigal Son on the independent Average Joe record label that is also home to his friend and writing cohort Colt Ford.
Ford and Gilbert's stories are intricately linked due to early success writing major hits for Country Superstar Jason Aldean. Although both have performed and recorded versions of the rap infused Dirt Road Anthem it was not until Aldean recorded and released the song on his multi platinum selling My Kinda Party album that they became major hit country songs. Gilbert is also the writer behind the Aldean smash My Kinda Party. Both songs have instrumentally helped cultivate Jason Aldean's edgy rock sound. It's a sound that has also become Gilbert's hallmark.
Lately Gilbert has been writing, recording, and releasing his own hit songs. His debut mainstream country single Country Must Be Country Wide gave him his first number one hit and he quickly followed the release with You Don't Know Her Like I Do. His second number one. The newfound popularity was enough to earn him a coveted nomination for 2012 New Artist award (won by Hunter Hayes).
Brantley Gilbert was born January, 20th 1985 in Jefferson, Georgia, just outside of the musically thriving college town of Athens where he slowly built a following playing acoustic shows and, later, hard rocking country sets throughout the South East United States.
In September of 2012 he kicked off his first headlining Hell On Wheels tour with Kip Moore and is filling larger and larger venues into 2013.
Gilberts infusion into pop culture has also been noted by the rapid rise of the name Brantley for newborns as tracked by the Social Security Administration. Some argue that this rise is more due to the popularity of University of Florida star quarterback John Brantley.
His most popular effort to date, Halfway to Heaven, was produced by the Atom Brothers (from Athens) as well as Dann Huff who is behind some of the biggest hits by the Faith Hill. Not all of Gilbert's releases from Halfway To Heaven have become hits. Initially released on his independent effort, Kick It In The Sticks was re-released in 2012 to radio with lackluster success due to it's overly edgy sound topping out just inside the Billboard top thirty.
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