One year later, she was writing her own songs and learning to play several instruments, including guitar, harmonica, and mandolin. She self-released three albums before catching a break when she appeared as a contestant on the 2007 season of the American Idol-styled television show Nashville Star. She came in seventh in the competition, but the exposure allowed her to make some inroads on the Nashville music scene, and she began placing songs with major country artists like Martina McBride and Miranda Lambert. She signed a recording deal with Mercury Records in 2012, which issued a first single, the wise, taut, and very impressive "Merry Go 'Round," later that same year. In March 2013, her first album for Mercury, Same Trailer Different Park, was released, earning significant praise and generating two further hits in the singles "Blowin' Smoke" and "Follow Your Arrow," the latter reaching number ten on the Billboard country singles chart. Due to all this success, Musgraves was nominated for three ACM Awards, including Female Vocalist of the Year; she won the ACM for Album of the Year. Musgraves began work on her second album in 2014, wrapping it up in early 2015. Preceded by the single "Biscuits," Pageant Material appeared in June 2015 to positive reviews; it debuted at number one on the Billboard country chart and number three on the Top 200. Musgraves followed the album in October of 2016 with the seasonal record A Very Kacey Christmas. ~ Steve Leggett