"I Wonder" Still Moves Kellie Pickler

Kellie Pickler photo courtesy of BNA Records

May 18, 2007 — During Monday's ACM New Artists show, the usually bubbly Kellie Pickler began crying while singing "I Wonder," which is about her nonexistent relationship with her mother — as she does most nights on tour, The Tennessean reports.

Kellie told the crowd that a Wisconsin woman had decided to leave her husband and four children, and when she got in the car, "I Wonder" was on the radio. "She quickly turned the car around," says Kellie, explaining that the woman didn't want her own daughter to sing that song one day.

While Kellie admits that her situation with her mother is not yet resolved, she tells Dial-Global that she had hoped the song would help others dealing with a similar situation.

"It's really personal and it really kind of hits home, but writing the song has been kind of a therapy for me," she says. "Of course, it's obvious that I'm still dealing with the whole issue, but I kind of look at it like maybe someone else is listening to the song or watches me sing it, and maybe they are going through the same thing and they can relate. And they feel like, 'You know what, she overcame that and she still followed after her dreams considering the circumstance, and so can I.'"

Fortunately, Kellie is able to leave her sadness onstage. "She'll put on a red wig and Billy Bob teeth and sit on someone's shoulders in the front row and try to freak me out," says Taylor Swift, who is currently touring along with Kellie. "She's my source of entertainment on the road."