Georgia native Billy Currington abandoned his plan to be a football star and instead embarked on a career in Country music after high school. Undeterred by a failed audition for the Opryland theme park, he moved to Nashville after graduation, then briefly returned to Georgia before he gave Nashville another try. His persistence paid off when he was signed by Mercury Records in 2003. His first single, "Walk a Little Straighter," from his self-titled debut album, features a chorus he wrote when he was a 12 year-old boy struggling with his relationship with his alcoholic stepfather.
In 2004, Currington was selected to perform the Country version of Shania Twain's duet, "Party for Two." Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray sang with Twain on the Pop version of the single. The song became a Top 10 hit, which Currington followed up with his second album, Doin' Somethin' Right, in 2005. The title track was his first #1 hit and was notable for its racy video, featuring Miss Mexico Blanca Soto. Currington told CMT.com that many women were screened for the video, but Soto was the clear favorite. Soto went on to become a Latin television and film star.
Currington took a year off from music after the success of Doin' Somethin' Right. He had laryngitis and was forced to cancel his tour, but he also underwent therapy in a program in Arizona geared toward trauma victims, which helped help him deal with his stepfather's abuse. He told People magazine in January 2008 that the abuse left him with his own anger issues. He said, "I started showing symptoms of trauma in grade school by getting into fights. When you are taught to hate, you carry that with you."
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