For the first time since her late husband’s passing, Kellie Pickler is paying tribute to him on stage.
The 37-year-old former cast member of “American Idol” made her live performance debut following the passing of her spouse, Kyle Jacobs, on Monday at a Nashville, Tennessee, event honuring country music icon Patsy Cline.
Kellie Pickler Emotions
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely nervous right now. “It’s the first time I’ve been up on stage in a long time,” Pickler told the audience in a TikTok video shared by Music Mayhem Magazine. “My husband and I actually wrote this song together, gosh, over a decade ago.”
“I know he is here with us tonight,” she continued, “because the last time I was here in the Ryman Auditorium was with him on a date night.”
How did Kyle Jacobs died?
In February of last year, Jacobs, 49, was discovered dead at the Nashville house he and Pickler shared. Subsequently, an autopsy verified that the Grammy-nominated artist had committed suicide. Born in Minnesota, Jacobs worked with performers such as Kelly Clarkson and Tim McGraw.
However, he is most renowned for being one of the co-writers of Garth Brooks’ song “More Than a Memory,” which became the first to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs list in 2007. The 2004 hit song “8th World Wonder,” by “American Idol” finalist Kimberly Locke, was also co-written by him.