Jesse Lee and the Band

<p>Jesse Lee was raised in Los Altos, California. Inspired by country music at an early age, she began performing in state festivals by age eleven before her family moved to Florida, eventually serving as an opening act for Ronnie Milsap, Willie Nelson and Clay Walker.  She attended Belmont University's music program after graduating from high school,  meanwhile performing at local songwriters' clubs. She released an album titled Room to Breathe in 2003 and co-wrote the title track to Kristy Lee Cook's debut album Why Wait. Jesse was living in Nashville at the time but traveled back to Jacksonville, FL, where Lee was singing at a fair and was discovered by someone who sent her music to the president of Atlantic Records, who upon hearing her demo, flew her to New York and offered her a record deal. </p> <p> </p> <p>Her debut album is produced by Paul Worley, Mark Bright and Nathan Chapman, and it includes her debut single "It's a Girl Thing", which debuted at #59 on the U.S. country charts dated for June 6, 2009. The song was also made into a music video, which has aired on CMT. "It's a Girl Thing" received a favorable review from Matt Bjorke of Roughstock, who said that the song (which she co-wrote with Victoria Banks and Rachel Proctor) had a mainstream sound but showcased Lee's vocals.[5] Karlie Justus of The 9513 gave it a thumbs-down rating, saying that the song was cliché and stereotyped, although she also described Lee's vocal performance favorably. Lee was featured on the track "Me Again" on Uncle Kracker's 2009 album, Happy Hour.</p>