Cyndi Thomson is an American singer who had two hit singles before giving up the music industry. She was born on October 19, 1976 and grew up in Tifton, GA. She eventually moved to Nashville to make it as a singer. In July 2001 her first CD titled My World was released and her first single "What I Really Meant To Say" was a hit. Her second single "I Always Liked That Best" was also well received. The album has since gone gold. In a surprising move for a new artist, on October 2002 Thomson announced that she was quitting the entertainment industry. Cyndi Thomson has claimed to have had personal obligations for quitting, as well as the desire to start and have a family. In 2006 it was revealed on the website CMT that the singer will be returning to music.

Biography

[edit] Early life
Cyndi Thomson was born and raised in Tifton, Georgia, the youngest of four daughters for Pat and Russ Thomson. As a child, she was exposed to many different types of music. Her parents listened to the oldies while her sisters listened to music by Manhattan Transfer and Janet Jackson among others.[2] As Thomson got older, she began singing in church like her sisters did. At the age of twelve, she knew that she wanted to be a singer and at thirteen, after listening to Trisha Yearwood's "She's in Love with the Boy", she knew that she wanted to be a country singer.[3]

After graduating high school and winning a Georgia Music Hall of Fame scholarship,[4] Thomson attended Kennesaw State University in Atlanta.[5] Feeling that her dream of being a country singer was not going to be realized staying in Atlanta, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee. There, she attended Belmont University and enrolled in its music business program,[3] but dropped out after a year and a half realizing that school was not necessary for her to do what she wanted to do.[2] Thomson did various jobs while pursuing the recording career that she wanted, one of which was a modelling job at a party for Deana Carter's album Did I Shave My Legs for This? going platinum.[3] One of the other models there later introduced Thomson to songwriter Tommy Lee James,[6] who wrote for Brooks & Dunn and Martina McBride.


[edit] Music career
Even though Thomson had never written a song before, James agreed to work with her and within a year of writing their first song, Thomson signed with Sony-ATV Music Publishing as a songwriter.[2][3] In 2000, James introduced Thomson to Capitol Records Nashville which signed her to a record deal immediately after hearing her sing three songs.[6] Thomson co-wrote eight of the eleven songs on her debut album My World, released on July 31, 2001. The album was co-produced by James and producer Paul Worley and became the best-selling debut album by a female country singer since LeAnn Rimes' album Blue was released in 1996.[7] The album was certified gold, for selling more than 500,000 copies, by the Recording Industry Association of America ten months after the album's release.[8][9]

The debut single from My World, "What I Really Meant to Say", became an instant hit. The single, written after a re-encounter with an old boyfriend,[3] spent eight consecutive weeks at the top of the country singles sales chart and three consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts.[8] The single also became the only debut single by a female country singer to spend more than one week at the top of the Radio & Records country chart.[7] Thomson's next two singles, "I Always Liked That Best" and "I'm Gone", failed to reach the top 20, with the former peaking at #21 and the latter peaking at #31 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

In late 2002, Thomson, in a letter written to her record label, fans and friends, announced that she was walking away from her recording career.[10] Thomson, who married musician and producer Daniel Goodman earlier that year, stated that being a recording artist was an "overwhelming life changing experience" and that she "cannot commit to [the] obligations" of making a new album.[10][1] She did, however, contribute to the 2004 album Amazing Grace 3: A Country Salute to Gospel, on which she sang "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus".[11] She also sang "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" for the album Christmas Angels released by Capitol Nashville in 2005.[12][13] "Life Ain't Always Beautiful", co-written by Thomson and credited to her as Cyndi Goodman, became a top five hit for Gary Allan in 2006. That year, she also returned to Capitol Nashville after leaving the label for four years and started recording for her second album with James.[14]


[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums
Year Title US Country US 200 RIAA
2001 My World 7 81 Gold


[edit] Singles
Year Song US Country US Hot 100 Album
2001 "What I Really Meant to Say" 1 26 My World
"I Always Liked That Best" 21 119
2002 "I'm Gone" 31


[edit] References
^ a b Loftus, Johnny. Cyndi Thomson biography. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
^ a b c Perlman, Jason (2001-07-24). Cyndi Thomson. MusicOhio. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
^ a b c d e Gray, Michael (2001-08-02). Cyndi Thomson's "World" Shaped by Trisha Yearwood. Country Music Television. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
^ Thomson Joins Capitol Nashville Roster. Country Music Television (2000-04-07). Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
^ Blankenship, Bill (2001-10-26). Sweet young twang. The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
^ a b Mansfield, Brian (2001-08-09). Everything is just peachy for Thomson. USA Today. Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
^ a b Nash, Alanna (2001-10-19). Georgia Peach. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
^ a b Cyndi Thomson Goes GOLD! Capitol Recording Artist's Debut Album Sells Over 500,000 Units. Business Wire (2002-06-02). Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
^ Thomson Hits Gold Standard. Country Music Television (2002-06-07). Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
^ a b Thomson to Give Up Recording Career. Country Music Television (2002-10-15). Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
^ Wadley, Carma (2004-08-07). Singer's life takes a sharp turn. Deseret News Publishing Co.. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
^ Country Christmas Albums Released. Country Music Television (2005-11-08). Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
^ Christmas Angels. Amazon. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.