Little Big Town singer Kimberly Schlapman was born in Cornelia, Georgia on October 15, 1969. She first started performing with her father, who was also a country performer and she started entering talent contests at the age of 12.Schlapman co-founded Little Big Town with Karen Fairchild during college. The group signed a deal with Mercury Nashville in 1999, but never had any music released with the label. They later signed with Monument Records and released their debut self-titled album, which was critically panned:"When we were in the moment, nobody thought we were doing the wrong thing. You end up compromising, but you don't even realize you're compromising. People ask us where they can find the first album. We're like, 'Amazon.com — and any bargain bin,’” Fairchild explained to USA Today.