This country music group has been around for eighteen years now. Learn more about the band through these ten Sugarland facts!
Country music group Sugarland got its start in 2002 when it was founded by musicians Kristen Hall and Kristian Bush in Georgia. Songstress Jennifer Nettles was soon added to the group, making it a trio. The band’s debut single “Baby Girl” and album, Twice the Speed of Life, were instant hits. Hall exited the group in late 2005 before Sugarland’s sophomore album was released. Learn more about Sugarland via the collection of ten facts below!
1) Kristian Bush is a baked bean heir.
What fans might not know about Kristian is that his fame not only comes from his musical talent, he is also a part of the Bush’s Baked Beans family. His feelings towards the family recipe isn’t what one would expect, “You’re gonna love this… but I can’t stand them,” Kristian admitted to Oprah in a past interview. The singer later told The Boot that he actually didn’t get in trouble with his family for admitting his distaste on television.
2) Jennifer Nettles found love on a music video set.
Jennifer Nettles met her husband Justin Miller during the making of Sugarland‘s video “Want To.” In fact, the couple shared a bed in the video. Miller, a former model, played the role of the handsome lover. The couple wed in November 2011 and they welcomed their first child, Magnus, in December 2012.
3) Bon Jovi chose to collaborate with Jennifer Nettles over Keith Urban.
In 2005, Jennifer Nettles collaborated with Bon Jovi on a country version of their song, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.” Originally, the collaboration was supposed to feature Keith Urban, but Jon Bon Jovi decided that Urban’s voice was too similar to his own.
4) Bush and Dolly Parton have the same hometown.
Bush was born in Knoxville, but was was raised in Sevierville, Tennessee. Yes, the same Smoky Mountain town that produced country music icon Dolly Parton.
5) Sugarland performed a Beyoncé song at the American Music Awards in 2007 and got a surprise.
Bush and Nettles executed a cover of Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable” at the AMAs. The superstar then joined Sugarland halfway through their performance, leaving Nettles starstruck. Speaking to the Associated Press, “Beyonce was looking at me and I was blushing because I thought I was going to turn to stone in her beauty,” the Georgia native admitted.
6) Sugarland’s name has nothing to do with Texas.
None of Sugarland’s past or present members have any link to Sugar Land, Texas. Georgia native Kristen Hall came up with the group’s name and it stuck even after she left the group.
7) Kristen Hall took legal action against Jennifer and Kristian.
In 2008, Hall sued her former bandmates for $14 million. She claimed they were excluding her from a profit sharing agreement they made after she left the group. The lawsuit was privately settled out of court in November 2010.
8) Music is in the Bush family’s blood.
Kristian Bush’s brother, Brandon, played keyboard for rock band Train, best known for their smash hit, “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me).” Brandon is now Sugarland’s keyboardist out on tour.
9) Jennifer is all about these three things…
While out on the road, Jennifer always packs comfortable jeans, Listerine Quick Dissolving Strips, and light makeup that doesn’t run while she’s performing.
10) Kristian went classical first.
Bush was enrolled in violin lessons and classically trained as a child. The budding star agreed to play one season in the Knoxville Youth Symphony— as long as he could then permanently swap the violin for a guitar.
11) Sugarland was inducted into the George Music Hall of Fame on October 14, 2012.
12) Sugarland has released six studio albums including:
Be sure to share these Sugarland facts with other country music fans!