SHeDAISY

SHeDAISY (/ʃəˈdeɪzi/), originally the Osborn Sisters, was an American country music vocal group from Magna, Utah. The group consisted of sisters Kassidy, Kelsi, and Kristyn Osborn. Kassidy was the lead vocalist, and Kristyn the lead songwriter. Their name was derived from a Navajo term meaning 'my little sister'. The sisters were involved in music since their childhood, and recorded an unreleased album for RCA Records Nashville in the early 1990s. At the end of the decade they began using the name SHeDAISY, and signed with Lyric Street Records who released their debut album The Whole SHeBANG in 1999. A year later they recorded a Christmas project Brand New Year, followed by studio albums Knock on the Sky (2002), Sweet Right Here (2004), and Fortuneteller's Melody (2006). The Whole SHeBANG is certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and Sweet Right Here certified gold. SHeDAISY has fifteen entries on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Their top-ten hits on this chart are "Little Good-Byes," "This Woman Needs", "I Will... But" (their highest, with a peak of number two), and "Don't Worry 'bout a Thing". Their sound is defined by Kristyn's songwriting, country pop influences, and vocal harmony, with mixed reception for the production style of their albums and the nature of their lyrics. Many critics compared the group's sound to the Dixie Chicks (now the Chicks). SHeDAISY was founded by three sisters with the last name Osborn: Kristyn (born August 24, 1970), Kelsi (born November 21, 1974), and Kassidy (born October 30, 1976), all born and raised in Magna, Utah. They are all the children of David and Robyn Osborn. All three sisters were involved in music since childhood. In July 1987, Kelsi was booked to play the title role in a production of Annie at the Sundance Resort summer theater. All three Osborn sisters also performed at a number of talent shows and other events, including the National Finals Rodeo, along with singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Utah Jazz basketball games and performing for residents of assisted-living facilities. Kelsi attended a competition at the former Cottonwood Mall in Holladay, Utah, held by the television network Showtime in October 1988, to select youth hosts for a special programming block. The network declared her one of four top winners in March 1989. This competition required David to travel with Kelsi to New York City; he chose to take Kristyn and Kassidy along, as he thought doing so would familiarize all of them with show business. According to him, the trip inspired Kristyn to begin performing full-time. Specifically, she wanted to perform country music as she had just bought an album by Restless Heart. Further inspiring the sisters was the family's perception that country music at the time did not have a significant number of female groups or teenagers. The sisters' combined interest in country music led David to take Kristyn, Kelsi, and Kassidy to Nashville, Tennessee, later in 1989 with the intent of beginning their careers in the genre. The family would then commute regularly between Utah and Nashville so the sisters could finish attending school. He had them record demos with the intent of signing them to a record label. One such demo led to them being signed by RCA Records Nashville in 1991. At the time, the trio called themselves the Osborn Sisters. The three sisters began recording songs under the production of Rob Galbraith, best known for his work with Ronnie Milsap, and also performed a concert at their local high school with him in attendance. Although they completed an album for RCA, it was never released and they left the label. The sisters later stated dissatisfaction with their material, as well as concerns that they were unpreprared to start a professional music career, as the reasons behind the RCA album's cancellation. After leaving RCA, the three Osborn sisters continued to live in the same apartment in Nashville while performing at various local nightclubs. They supported themselves financially by working at department stores at the former Hickory Hollow Mall in the Nashville suburb of Antioch. Kristyn also attended Middle Tennessee State University to educate herself on music business management. They briefly renamed themselves the Violets before choosing the name SHeDAISY (/ʃəˈdeɪzi/). This name was inspired by their brother-in-law, who worked as a missionary among the Navajo and referred to the sisters by the Navajo language term shedaisacode: nav promoted to code: nv , which means 'my little sister'. Kristyn had also begun writing songs with Jason Deere, a Nashville-based songwriter the sisters had befriended. With Deere's assistance, they sent demo recordings to multiple Nashville-based record labels. One demo was sent to Shelby Kennedy, who worked in artists and repertoire for Lyric Street Records, then a new country music division of Disney Music Group. By early 1998, they were signed to the label. Lyric Street released SHeDAISY's debut album The Whole SHeBANG on May 11, 1999. Kristyn co-wrote all eleven of its songs. Dann Huff produced the album and also alternated with Shelby's brother Gordon on electric guitar. Other musicians on the project included bassist Mike Brignardello (with whom Huff previously recorded in the band Giant), drummers Vinnie Colaiuta and Paul Leim, steel guitar players Dan Dugmore and Paul Franklin, and mandolin player Jonathan Yudkin. "Little Good-Byes", co-written with Deere and Kenny Greenberg, was the lead single. By the middle of the year, this song peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now called Hot Country Songs) chart and 43 on the Billboard Hot 100. Afterward, "This Woman Needs" also became a top-ten hit on the country charts by year's end. It was followed by "I Will... But", which accounted for their highest country music peak of number two in 2000. Like "Little Good-Byes", it also peaked at 43 on the Hot 100. Following this song was "Lucky 4 You (Tonight I'm Just Me)" with a Billboard country peak of number eleven. Both "I Will... But" and "Lucky 4 You" were also co-written by Deere, with Coley McCabe also assisting on the latter. The last single off the album, "Still Holding Out for You", was co-written by Richard Marx and was a minor Hot Country Songs chart hit in 2001. Before being issued as a single, it was the B-side of "Little Good-Byes". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic thought the album's sound was closer to pop than country, but praised the "well-crafted, melodic, memorable songs" as well as the sisters' vocal harmonies. Paul Verna opined similarly in a review for Billboard. On March 28, 2000, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded The Whole SHeBANG a platinum certification for shipments of one million copies in the United States. In 2000, SHeDAISY was nominated for the Horizon Award (now Best New Artist) by the Country Music Association. SHeDAISY were also nominated for Top New Vocal Duet or Group at the 1999 Academy of Country Music awards. At the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2000, "Little Good-Byes" was nominated in the category of Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. At the end of 2000, the trio released an album of Christmas music titled Brand New Year. The album included a mix of traditional Christmas songs and new content. One original track, "Twist of the Magi", featured guest vocals from Rascal Flatts, who were also signed to Lyric Street at the time. The album's rendition of "Deck the Halls" had previously appeared in the 1999 direct-to-video animated film Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas and was issued as a promotional Christmas single at the end of that year. This promotion helped the song enter both the country music and Hot 100 charts at the end of 1999 due to seasonal sales and airplay. Upon the release of Brand New Year in 2000, the "Deck the Halls" rendition entered the country charts a second time, with