Reviews

Kellie Pickler must be the envy of every American Idol also-ran.

The sixth-place finisher has somehow escaped the obscurity that most alums are dumped into soon after their seasons are up. Instead, the perky Ms. Pickler, who's had three top-15 singles and is promoting a new album, was the headliner at the State Fair of Texas Sunday night.

The crowd of a few hundred stood for the hourlong show, during which Ms. Pickler showed off her ditzy charm.

"My shirt keeps blowin' up and I'm thinking, 'Whoa!' " she said as the wind swirled around her. "But I'm covered up underneath. Lucky for you."

She's at her best with funny songs, including "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" ("That car is too fast, this beer is too cold and watching all this football is sure getting old") and the new "Rocks Instead of Rice," which is about crashing the wedding of two people you can't stand. ("If the three of us were on Jerry Springer, I'd be pulling her hair, and I'd kick that lying sack of shoulda-known-better in the you-know-where.")

"Believe it or not," she said afterward, "I wrote that about an ex-boyfriend. Lemme tell ya, he downgraded."

But there's another side to the singer, whose hard-luck past includes a mom who walked out when she was a baby and a dad who's served prison time. She softened the mood for two songs: "My Angel," a tribute to her late grandmother, and "I Wonder," her hit about her mother's absence. The crowd cheered in support for both.

She was appreciative. Ms. Pickler often stretched herself dangerously across a gap from the stage to touch fans' hands and initiated an impromptu autograph session at the end of the show. (After one person threw a towel and she signed it, random objects began flying toward the stage.)

Although Ms. Pickler's pre-Idol days as a roller-skating waitress seem to be over, they aren't forgotten.

"The great thing about country music," she told the crowd, "is that it's about life – real people. Like you and me."

Darla Atlas is a Fort Worth freelance writer.