Kellie Pickler's so focused on her country music career that fans of the former American Idol fifth-season finalist shouldn't expect to see her sitcom project on-air anytime soon.
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"The sitcom's on the back burner," Pickler told the Akron (OH) Beacon Journal in an interview published Monday. "Country music's my whole life now. I want to establish myself as a country artist while I have the chance."
Pickler was the seventh finalist eliminated from American Idol's 2006 fifth season. Only a week after her debut album "Small Town Girl" was released in November, Pickler inked a sitcom development deal with 20th Century Fox that would have her playing "a naive small-town Southern girl -- a character based on herself -- who discovers that her biological father is the state's well-respected governor."
However music apparently got the best of Pickler, as "Small Town Girl" was certified gold in January and she's currently performing as opening act on Brad Paisley's "Bonfires & Amplifiers" concert tour, which is scheduled to come to an end in October.
"If I was working on a TV show, that would take 14, 15 hours a day," she told the Beacon Journal. "When would I fit my music in? When would I tour?"
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If Pickler's sitcom project actually ever makes it to the air -- or even produces a pilot -- it would mark a new first for a former Idol finalist. In September 2005, former Idol fourth-season finalist Constantine Maroulis signed a sitcom development deal with ABC, however the project never got past the script stage.
Maroulis did eventually make it to the small screen in May, as he joined the cast of CBS' daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful. Much like the role Pickler was to play in her sitcom, Maroulis played the part of music producer Constantine Parros and even performed a few songs on-air.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio