Spc. Laura M. Bigenho
28th Public Affairs Detachment

MUSIC ARTIST ENGAGES TROOPS WITH MUSIC, SENTIMENT

She may not have come to Iraq to gain more fans or fame, but country music artist Chely Wright left Camp Victory with more than a few new fans following her performance here Feb. 28.
            Her third trip to Iraq was made possible by Stars for Stripes, a non-profit organization headed by Judy Seale and MWR.
            Wright said she came to Iraq because “it felt like the right thing to do.”
            Energetic and personable, Wright charmed the audience with her music, jokes and sentiment for the troops and their service during a 90-minute concert.
            “I am so honored and thrilled to be here with you guys and gals,” Wright said. “I have a better time performing when I know my audience, so you’re going to know a lot about me because I’m a woman and I talk a lot.”
            After opening with hit “Shut Up and Drive,” Wright acknowledged not everyone in the audience knew who she was.
            “Who here doesn’t like country music, but I’m the only show in town tonight, so you showed up?”
            Wright’s involvement with the military began early in life. Her grandfather was a sergeant in the Army during World War II, her father served in the Navy during Vietnam, and her brother is an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran serving with the Marine Corps.
            After she said she wanted to be a country singer at age nine, Wright’s grandfather told her to sing for the guys at a Veterans Affairs hospital near her Kansas hometown.
            “As I’ve gotten older, it has unfolded to me what a gift it was to do that,” she said. “It has made me well-suited to go to (military hospitals), and I have my grandfather to thank for that.”
            In addition to singing hits “Single White Female,” “Jezebel” and “It Was,” Wright tested unreleased songs on her audience and asked them to be the “Simon Cowell of Baghdad.” Other highlights included a giveaway of signed guitars and a Soldier singing onstage with Wright.
            Wright also sang “Bumper of My S.U.V.” – a response to an altercation she had with an irate woman who noticed a Marine Corps bumper sticker on Wright’s car. She wrote it in June 2003 with no intention of recording, but changed her mind after playing it for the first time for troops in Afghanistan 16 months later.
            “It has been good for my career, but more importantly, it has very special meaning to me,” she said.
            During the song, a tearful Wright paused to regain her composure as the audience applauded and encouraged her to finish singing. 
            Sgt. Terry Farr, Operations Center force protection NCO, Kansas Army National Guard, said her performance was a genuine tribute to everyone serving in the military, past and present.
            “To see her get emotional while singing ‘Bumper of My S.U.V.’ showed what a true patriot she is,” he said.
            Sgt. Michele Adkins, administrative NCO, III Corps, has been a fan for over 10 years and respects Wright for waiting to release the song.
            “(Wright) said she did not want it to be blasted across television, and I respect her on that,” Adkins said. “There are a lot of people who are just money hungry, but Wright actually shows her heart on her sleeve.”
            Before leaving the stage to meet the audience, Wright made the troops a promise.
            “I am committed to coming here as long as we have troops in Iraq,” she said. “The folks back home pray every day for you, and I just want to thank so many who have asked me to come over here.”


STARS FOR STRIPES IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OR ITS PUBLICATION, STARS AND STRIPES. 

STARS FOR STRIPES IS A NON-PROFIT, 501(c)(3) CORPORATION