You Wont Believe How Much Jennifer Nettles is Actually Worth
People imagine a life of ease, in which one relaxes on a tour bus all day, performs for an hour or two, then drifts away to sleep in the evening on newly acquired bundles of cash.
Fewer people picture the complexities of the industry, the desire to not disappoint fans and the pressure to stay relevant. People imagine an artist's entourage being stocked with groupies, but rarely picture babysitters watching over the artist's children. The truth is that many singers live normal and levelheaded lives despite being in the spotlight.
Nettles is best known for being half of the country music duo Sugarland, who have been captivating audiences since 2004 and have sold more than 22 million albums. In spite of Sugarland's success, Nettles kept pushing herself artistically and released her first solo album, That Girl, in early 2014.
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Now, with a new album on the horizon, Nettles is bringing her powerful and warm voice to the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix on Friday, Feb. 19, to headline the CMT Next Women of Country tour. Nettles called to talk about career evolution, the current climate of the industry and what makes her grateful in day-to-day life.
Answer: (Laughs) Well, there are certainly many things I've learned that are different, and there are many things that aren't different. My job is still the same in terms of that I write, record, and perform music, so that element is the same. There is a bit of difference, I think, in the intimacy and depths to which I can dig as a writer and as a performer and as an artist in general when I'm doing solo work. Simply because the nature of collaboration means you're going to have deference and respect for the other people in the room. So, consequently, doing this solo work I do feel is a bit more of an intimate portrayal, and a more authentic and specific view of myself for my fans. Now, what I have learned through going solo — obviously Sugarland was super successful — is that in the nature of this business a brand is so powerful and Sugarland has been a great brand to have. At the same time, though, as an artist, I had to do something else.
Q: Going along with that intimacy and depth, sometimes country music gets a bad rap for being shallow or whiny. Do you think there is something defining that makes a great country song?
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A: Sure. I think some of the stigma for country music being shallow is a more modern analysis of modern country music. Especially since in recent years country has really opened itself up more to reaching a younger demographic. I think there is a wonderful place for the Friday Nights-type songs in all music, and I think country is celebrating that in a very specific way, because for many generations country was considered your aunt's or your grandparent's music. It was not the younger people's quote-unquote shallow, puppy love, let's go party music, and now it's opened its doors in a broader sense and welcomed a younger audience, in addition to the traditionalists that also love country music. So I think that's a good thing.
I also think the genre gets a bad rap in terms of the 'whiny' thing and saying, Oh, country music is about your dog dying, or your truck breaking down or your wife leaving you. Really, what I think that is — and what I think country music does better than most genres — is celebrate realness. To celebrate brokenness in a way that sheds light on that brokenness, and to tell those stories of real life so that we can connect with ourselves and feel better within those types of heartbreak. So I think for me country music — and I've been in this business for many years, 10 years before Sugarland — is a songwriters and storytellers genre, for sure.
Q: You've been a great champion for women in the industry and women in general. Do you feel the pressure to stay young and sexy is less fierce on female artists in country than in other genres?
Jennifer Nettles Net Worth
A: I do feel that country music is the genre in which I can age most gracefully, in that I'm not singing dance music and out swinging around on a trapeze, you know what I'm saying? (Laughs) Which is kind of hard to do as you get older, unless you're Cher or Madonna. At the same time, I do feel pressure to remain young and relevant. I feel those pressures, but yet I do feel that out of all of them, for me in my choice (country is) the genre in which I can age the most gracefully.
A: I think it's respect, but more than that, I think it's being valued the same. It's funny, when we talk about equal work for equal pay, or when we want to talk about equal pay for equal play — if you will — sexism is definitely a reality across all industries, and the music industry isn't immune to that. I would like to think that it's getting better. I think in general music trends go in cycles. So you may have times where it's more male-dominated or it's more female-dominated. Yet when you read articles where people in radio are caught saying, Oh, you can't play two female artists back to back — says who? Says what? Especially for a market whose demographic is the majority of women! So I call bull---- on that statement. That's someone making an assertion based on what they believe, and I don't quite believe that's true. I think people want to hear good music, regardless.
A: You know, obviously when people see an artist on television and they're dressed in designer clothing and everything feels like a fantasy, there can be an assumption that life is glamorous; and listen, there are some points I love getting to play dress up and feel pretty as much as the next girl. At the end of the day, though, I've laughed and said that you have to love this business to do it, or else you wouldn't do it, because it's hard. Everyone wants to be famous, but there is a difference between being famous and being successful, and in order to be successful you have to work very, very hard. And the lifestyle for me is quite challenging. The travel is quite challenging.
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I smiled to myself last week, though, because I realized — very gratefully so — that I have now been in this business, playing my own songs and touring longer in my life than I have not. That's told me that I really love it, regardless of the misconceptions that it's all glamour — because it isn't. I have a 3-year-old child that travels with me and is on tour with me, which is like being a full-time mom and a full-time working person. Because, like most working mothers, when I'm full time with him, I'm full time with him. And whenever I get on stage and my work night starts, my work night starts. I deal with the same variables in life; it's just that there are some very unique offerings and challenges.
A: You know, I get so much joy in two areas. Of course, I feel compelled to authentically represent myself and say that my child brings me so much joy. It's interesting how something so challenging can bring so much joy and so much life. There is a beauty in getting to remember and relive parts of innocence and excitement and wonder that one gets to see through the eyes of a child, regardless of if it's yours or if it's someone else's and you just happen to be in that child's life.
But I also think for me most of all, where I get some of my most joy and most pleasure is in the creative process. That can be in performing and getting to become a character for three and a half minutes in a song on a stage, or getting to act in a movie and connect to people in that way. Basically, I want to be a storyteller and connect people to themselves and to each other, so that's where I get the most joy. When I can most effectively do that.
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A: I do feel that country music is the genre in which I can age most gracefully, in that I'm not singing dance music and out swinging around on a trapeze, you know what I'm saying? (Laughs) Which is kind of hard to do as you get older, unless you're Cher or Madonna. At the same time, I do feel pressure to remain young and relevant. I feel those pressures, but yet I do feel that out of all of them, for me in my choice (country is) the genre in which I can age the most gracefully.
A: I think it's respect, but more than that, I think it's being valued the same. It's funny, when we talk about equal work for equal pay, or when we want to talk about equal pay for equal play — if you will — sexism is definitely a reality across all industries, and the music industry isn't immune to that. I would like to think that it's getting better. I think in general music trends go in cycles. So you may have times where it's more male-dominated or it's more female-dominated. Yet when you read articles where people in radio are caught saying, Oh, you can't play two female artists back to back — says who? Says what? Especially for a market whose demographic is the majority of women! So I call bull---- on that statement. That's someone making an assertion based on what they believe, and I don't quite believe that's true. I think people want to hear good music, regardless.
A: You know, obviously when people see an artist on television and they're dressed in designer clothing and everything feels like a fantasy, there can be an assumption that life is glamorous; and listen, there are some points I love getting to play dress up and feel pretty as much as the next girl. At the end of the day, though, I've laughed and said that you have to love this business to do it, or else you wouldn't do it, because it's hard. Everyone wants to be famous, but there is a difference between being famous and being successful, and in order to be successful you have to work very, very hard. And the lifestyle for me is quite challenging. The travel is quite challenging.
Q&a: Country Superstar Jennifer Nettles Partners With World Vision
I smiled to myself last week, though, because I realized — very gratefully so — that I have now been in this business, playing my own songs and touring longer in my life than I have not. That's told me that I really love it, regardless of the misconceptions that it's all glamour — because it isn't. I have a 3-year-old child that travels with me and is on tour with me, which is like being a full-time mom and a full-time working person. Because, like most working mothers, when I'm full time with him, I'm full time with him. And whenever I get on stage and my work night starts, my work night starts. I deal with the same variables in life; it's just that there are some very unique offerings and challenges.
A: You know, I get so much joy in two areas. Of course, I feel compelled to authentically represent myself and say that my child brings me so much joy. It's interesting how something so challenging can bring so much joy and so much life. There is a beauty in getting to remember and relive parts of innocence and excitement and wonder that one gets to see through the eyes of a child, regardless of if it's yours or if it's someone else's and you just happen to be in that child's life.
But I also think for me most of all, where I get some of my most joy and most pleasure is in the creative process. That can be in performing and getting to become a character for three and a half minutes in a song on a stage, or getting to act in a movie and connect to people in that way. Basically, I want to be a storyteller and connect people to themselves and to each other, so that's where I get the most joy. When I can most effectively do that.
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