Jessica Danielle Andrews Chagnon (born December 29, 1983) is an American country music singer. At age 15<!--see talk page--> in mid-1999, she made her debut on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts with the single "I Will Be There for You", from her debut album Heart Shaped World, released in 1999 on DreamWorks Records Nashville. Andrews had her biggest chart success in 2001 with the song "Who I Am", a No. 1 country hit and the title track of her second studio album, which was certified gold in the United States. A third album, Now was released in 2003 to lower sales, while a fourth album (tentatively titled Ain't That Life) was never released due to DreamWorks' closure. In late 2008, Andrews signed to Carolwood Records, an imprint of Lyric Street Records, however, she was dropped from the label in 2009 without issuing an album. Andrews has been married to Marcel, a singer-songwriter and music video director, since 2011.
Early life
Jessica Danielle Andrews was born in Huntingdon, Tennessee, to parents Jessie and Vicki Andrews. When she was seven, a bone was growing through her spinal cord, a condition that required surgery. She had a 50/50 chance of coming out of it paralyzed. At 11, she put her first band together. One month later, she made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry. Also in 2000, she toured with Trisha Yearwood. Heart Shaped World also produced two more Top 40 country singles in "You Go First (Do You Wanna Kiss)" and "Unbreakable Heart", although the fourth single ("I Do Now") failed to reach Top 40. The album itself peaked at No. 24 on the Top Country Albums charts. Andrews was also featured on the premiere episode of On the Verge, a television series on CMT which followed the careers of up-and-coming country artists. On May 3, 2000, Andrews was invited to sing "Unbreakable Heart" at the 2000 Academy of Country Music awards, where she won the award for Top New Female Vocalist. for the police drama Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye where the main character Sue Thomas (played by deaf actress Deanne Bray) was a deaf FBI officer, landing a position in an FBI Surveillance team thanks to her lip reading skills. It also appeared at the end of an episode of Lizzie McGuire.
Andrews, who was 17 years old when Who I Am was recorded, described the album as a more mature effort than Heart Shaped World, because it focused more on the emotions that come with growing up. Serving as the album's lead-off single, "Who I Am" became, to date, Andrews' only Number One (and only Top Ten) hit on the country music charts, in addition to peaking at No. 28 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts. In a 2001 interview, Andrews explained that she recorded the song (which was written by Brett James and Troy Verges) because she felt that its lyrics were especially fitting to her own life: "Everything is so true in that song, except that my grandmother's name is not Rosemary. It's about believing in yourself and being supported by those around you. No matter how many mistakes you make, your friends and family will be there for you." Also in 2003, she befriended and began dating songwriter Marcel, co-writer of "There's More to Me Than You".
In late 2004, Andrews charted a duet with Bret Michaels of the rock band Poison, entitled "All I Ever Needed" for his solo album Freedom of Sound. The song was Michaels' only country hit, peaking at No. 45. Shortly afterward, Andrews began work on her fourth studio album, tentatively titled Ain't That Life. Its lead-off single, "The Marrying Kind", failed to chart, while "Summer Girl", the second single, peaked at No. 46 in mid-2005. DreamWorks' recording division was dissolved shortly afterward and the album was shelved.
2008–present
Andrews performed a duet with pop artist Richard Marx titled "Wild Horses", which was released on his 2008 album Sundown. In October 2008, Andrews signed with Lyric Street Records's subsidiary imprint, Carolwood Records. Her first single for the label, "Everything" (which Andrews co-wrote with Marcel), was released on November 23, 2008. The song, produced by Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts, went to No. 45 in early 2009. Her album was then pushed back to a later 2009 release; but in October of that year, Carolwood Records closed and the album was shelved. Additionally, Andrews was the only artist on Carolwood not to be transferred to its parent label, Lyric Street.
On November 2, 2010, Geffen Records released Andrews' first greatest hits album, Icon, as part of their Icon budget release series.
Personal life
In October 2010, Andrews became engaged to Marcel, a singer-songwriter and music video director. They were married on November 11, 2011. On September 30, 2017, Andrews announced that she was expecting a baby boy with Chagnon. In 2018, Andrews gave birth to a son. She gave birth to a daughter in 2022.
Discography
Studio albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Title
! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Album details
! colspan="3"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2" style="width:8em;"| Certifications<br/><small>(sales threshold)</small>
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="45"| US Country<br/>
! width="45"| US<br/>
! width="45"| US<br/>Heat<br/>
|-
! scope="row"| Heart Shaped World
|
- Release date: March 23, 1999
- Label: DreamWorks Nashville
- Formats: CD, cassette
| 24
| —
| 15
|
|-
! scope="row"| Who I Am
|
- Release date: February 27, 2001
- Label: DreamWorks Nashville
- Formats: CD, cassette
| 2
| 22
| —
| align="left"| RIAA: Gold
|-
! scope="row"| Now
|
- Release date: April 15, 2003
- Label: DreamWorks Nashville
- Formats: CD, cassette
| 4
| 34
| —
|
|-
| colspan="10" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart
|}
Compilation albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! style="width:14em;"| Title
! style="width:18em;"| Album details
|-
! scope="row"| Icon
|
- Release date: November 2, 2010
- Label: Geffen Records
- Formats: CD, music download
|-
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Single
! colspan="5"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| Album
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="45"| US Country<br/>
! width="45"| US<br/>
! width="45"| US AC<br/>
! width="45"| US Latin Pop<br/>
! width="45"| CAN Country<br/>
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1999
! scope="row"| "I Will Be There for You"
| 28
| —