Jo Dee Marie Messina American country singer Date of Birth: 25.08.1970 Country: USA

1. Biography of Jo Dee Messina
2. Early Life
3. Professional Career
4. Personal Life

Biography of Jo Dee Messina

Jo Dee Messina is an American country music singer. She has topped the Billboard country charts nine times and has been honored with awards from the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. She has also been nominated for a Grammy award. Messina became the first female artist in the country genre to release an album with three songs that stayed at the top of the charts for several weeks. She has achieved two platinum and three gold records in her career.

Early Life

Jo Dee Messina was born in Framingham, Massachusetts to Vincent and Mary Messina. She grew up in Holliston, Massachusetts with her two sisters and brother. Messina's love for country music was influenced by artists such as Patsy Cline, Reba McEntire, and The Judds. She began performing in school and later started singing in local nightclubs with her brother and one of her sisters.

Professional Career

After finishing high school, Messina realized that she needed to move to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue her music career. She worked various jobs, including programming and accounting, while trying to establish herself as a singer through talent competitions. Her victory in one of these competitions earned her a spot on the radio program "Live at Libby's." It was during this time that she caught the attention of music producer Byron Gallimore, who helped her record a demo tape.

Gallimore, who was also promoting a young Tim McGraw at the time, soon became Messina's friend. She eventually signed a contract with the Curb label, marking the beginning of her professional career. Messina made her debut in 1996, and two songs from her first album, "Heads Carolina, Tails California" and "You're Not in Kansas Anymore," reached the top ten on the country charts. Although her next two singles did not perform as well, her successful debut laid the groundwork for a concert tour. In 1996 alone, Messina performed in 215 concerts, establishing herself as one of the best vocalists of the decade.

Her debut album sold over 500,000 copies and achieved gold status. However, a series of financial setbacks and changes in management almost led Messina to bankruptcy. She had to work hard to avoid financial ruin. It took almost a year for her to gather material for her next album, which was released in 1998. "I'm Alright" turned out to be even more successful than her debut album, with three songs reaching the top spot on the Billboard charts. The album sold over 2 million copies in the United States, earning double platinum status.

Messina began receiving prestigious music awards and became a regular guest on television talk shows and even TV series. Her latest album, "Unmistakable," was released in April 2010, with two additional tracks added in November of that year.

Personal Life

Messina was engaged to manager Don Muzquiz in 2004, but the engagement was later called off. On June 22, 2007, she married businessman Chris Deffenbaugh. They welcomed a son in January 2009.