Sunny Sweeney
Sunny Michaela Sweeney (born December 7, 1976) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is signed to the Thirty Tigers label. She was formerly with the Republic Nashville label and Big Machine Records. Her debut album, Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame, was independently issued in 2006 and then regionally released in 2007. It produced three regional (Texas, Oklahoma) singles in "If I Could", "Ten Years Pass" and "East Texas Pines", and these songs charted on the Texas Music Chart. In June 2010, the lead-off to her second studio album, "From a Table Away," became her first single to chart.
Sunny Sweeney | |
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 Photograph of Sunny Sweeney by Christina Feddersen | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sunny Michaela Sweeney |
| Born | December 7, 1976[1] Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instrument(s) |
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| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels |
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Biography
Sweeney was born in Houston, Texas. Initially, Sweeney lived in Austin, TX, and went to Southwest Texas State University. She moved to New York City to take a break from school. Once ready to face school again, she returned to Texas and got a degree in Public Relations from SWT.[2][3]
After college, she started a band and played local bars in Austin and began to branch out and play around Texas. She put out her first album with the production help of Tommy Detamore in March 2006. After gaining a following on the club circuit in her native Texas, Sweeney signed to the independent Big Machine Records label.[4] She also toured throughout Europe in 2007.[2] Her debut album, Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame, was initially self-released in March 2006, and was reissued in March 2007 on Big Machine.[5]
In 2009, Sweeney was signed as the first artist to Republic Nashville, a newly founded joint venture between Big Machine and Universal Republic Records.[6] Her first single for the label is "From a Table Away," which was released on June 28, 2010. It became her first chart single when it debuted at No. 58 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of June 26, 2010. In March 2011, the song entered the Top 10 of the chart.
Republic Nashville released Sweeney's second studio album, Concrete on August 23, 2011.[7] The album was produced by Brett Beavers consists of ten tracks, including one co-written with Radney Foster and Jay Clementi.[8] "Staying's Worse Than Leaving" and "Drink Myself Single" were released as the album's second and third singles, respectively, and both were minor Top 40 hits on the Hot Country Songs chart. Sweeney and Big Machine parted ways in 2012.
In 2013, Sweeney signed a recording contract with the Thirty Tigers record label.[9] Her debut label single entitled "Bad Girl Phase" was released in June 2014. Through the fan-sponsored PledgeMusic program, Sweeney issued her third studio record, Provoked, on August 5, 2014.[10] "My Bed," a duet with Will Hoge, was released in early 2015 as the album's second single.[11]
Dreamer: A Tribute to Kent Finlay, released in early 2016 on Austin-based Eight 30 Records, features Sweeney and Randy Rogers' duet "Between You and Me."[12]
Sweeney's fourth studio album, Trophy, was released on March 10, 2017.[13]
Sweeney released her first live album, Recorded Live At The Machine Shop Recording Studio, on November 13, 2020.
Sweeney’s fifth studio album, Married Alone, was released on September 23, 2022. It includes a duet with Vince Gill on the title track as well as vocals from Paul Cauthen on “A Song Can’t Fix Everything”.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [14] |
US [15] |
US Folk [16] |
US Indie [17] | |||
| Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| Concrete |
|
7 | 21 | — | — |
|
| Provoked |
|
20 | 165 | — | 25 |
|
| Trophy |
|
—[lower-alpha 1] | — | 20 | 24 |
|
| Married Alone |
|
— | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||
Live albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Recorded Live at the Machine Shop Recording Studio |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [14] |
US Heat [23] | ||
| Sunny Sweeney EP |
|
41 | 12 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [24] |
US [25] | |||
| 2007 | "If I Could"[26] | — | — | Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame |
| 2010 | "From a Table Away" | 10 | 71 | Concrete |
| 2011 | "Staying's Worse Than Leaving" | 38 | — | |
| "Drink Myself Single" | 36 | — | ||
| 2014 | "Bad Girl Phase" | — | — | Provoked |
| 2015 | "My Bed" (with Will Hoge) | — | — | |
| 2016 | "Can't Let Go" | — | — | |
| 2017 | "Why People Change" | — | — | Trophy |
| "Better Bad Idea" | — | — | ||
| "Bottle By My Bed" | — | — | ||
| 2020 | "Poet's Prayer" | — | — | Non-album single |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "If I Could" | Todd Cassetty |
| 2010 | "From a Table Away" | David McClister |
| 2011 | "Staying's Worse Than Leaving" | Roman White |
| 2015 | "My Bed" (with Will Hoge)[27] | Michael Ponce |
| 2017 | "Bottle By My Bed" | Scott Simontacchi |
Notes
- Trophy did not chart on Top Country Albums, but peaked at No. 21 on the Country Album Sales chart.[20]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | ACM Awards | Top New Female Artist | Nominated |
References
- Whitburn, Joel (2013). Hot Country Songs: 1944-2012, Eighth edition. Record Research. p. 329.
- "Sunny Sweeney biography". Country Music Television. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
- "New Artist Spotlight: Sunny Sweeney". Great American Country. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
- Reges, Margaret. "Sunny Sweeney biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
- "Sunny Sweeney signs with Big Machine". Country Standard Time. 2006-11-16. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
- "New Nashville label starts with Sunny Sweeney aboard". Country Standard Time. 2009-06-05. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
- Shelburne, Craig. "Summer Preview: 12 New Country Albums". CMT. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
- Stark, Phyllis. "Sunny Sweeney: One To Watch In 2011". MSN. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
- "Sunny Sweeney Inks New Record Deal". Sounds Like Nashville. 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
- Vickye. "Sunny Sweeney "Bad Girl Phase" - Single Review". For the Country Record.
- "Sunny Sweeney Releases New Single, 'My Bed'". Sounds Like Nashville. 2015-02-02. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
- "Various Artists: Dreamer: A Tribute to Kent Finlay". AllMusic.
- "Album Review: Sunny Sweeney's 'Trophy'". Sounds Like Nashville. 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
- "Sunny Sweeney Album & Song Chart History - Country Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- "Sunny Sweeney Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- "Sunny Sweeney Album & Song Chart History - Folk Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- "Sunny Sweeney Album & Song Chart History - Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- "The Country Boys Continue to Dominate the Charts". Roughstock. Archived from the original on September 12, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- Matt Bjorke (August 20, 2014). "Country Album Sales Report – August 20, 2014". Roughstock. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014.
- "Sunny Sweeney Chart History - Country Album Sales". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
- Bjorke, Matt (March 20, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: March 20, 2017". Roughstock.
- "Sunny Sweeney Announces New Album "Married Alone"". 7 June 2022.
- "Sunny Sweeney Album & Song Chart History - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- "Sunny Sweeney Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- "Sunny Sweeney Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- "'If I Could' review". Country Universe. March 1, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
- "CMT : Videos : Sunny Sweeney : My Bed (featuring Will Hoge)". Country Music Television. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
