She was busy dealing with online trolls last week, but Miranda Lambert is celebrating her 33rd birthday today. And to celebrate, here's a look back at how she started her journey in country music.

Yep, the native of Longview, Texas native was born on November 10th, 1983. And while she's gone on to become one of country music's most successful female artists-- winning a ton of CMA and ACM Awards as well as several Grammy Awards-- she actually got her start on a reality TV singing competition.

Do you remember the show Nashville Star? It aired from 2003 to 2008 on NBC (though it ran for a few more seasons after that on CMT.) It was essentially the country version of American Idol, where contestants competed to become the next big country music star.

Judges and hosts on the show included Jewel, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Big & Rich's John Rich. And, back in 2003, a young singer named Miranda Lambert auditioned for and competed on the show. And much like American Idol, where some of the most successful alumni didn't actually win the competition, Miranda didn't win, either-- she came in third.

Either way, check out this #TBT to 2003 when Miranda first appeared on Nashville Star...

 

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