wikimusicguide / CC

"I just found out that I was voted 'PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian!' How cool is that?!! Thank you so much for voting!! That was totally unexpected!! I was jumping up and down when I heard the news! I even Googled it to make sure I wasn't being punk'd! Ha ha!!"
—Kellie Pickler, MySpace.com

Kellie's exuberant reaction to winning our Sexiest Vegetarian of the Year award was too good not to share. Of course she wasn't getting punk'd! We, along with everyone who voted, just believe she has a face as lovely as her heart (and voice). Congrats, Kellie!

Posted by Shawna Flavell

timeinc / CC

When it comes to being an animal lover, Kellie Pickler is the real deal—she only wears fake fur. Eagle-eyed viewers of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve spotted the "Best Days of Your Life" singer in what appeared to be a fur coat. But Kellie's publicist just confirmed what we suspected—that the coat was from PETA's favorite furrier: Cincinnati-based Donna Salyers' Fabulous Furs, which makes the most luxurious faux furs available.

"One night I couldn't sleep, and I was up and just Googling random stuff, and I'm like, 'Hmmm, PETA,'" said Kellie in an interview with People magazine last fall. "I saw all the videos, and I just thought it was horrible. It's animal cruelty. A lot of it has to do with knowing what happens to the animals, and it really bothered me, and so I will not eat meat." Pickler says that she shared her decision to go vegetarian with close friend and PETA "Sexiest Vegetarian" Carrie Underwood right away. She said, "I texted Carrie and was like, 'You're never going to believe this!'" PETA hopes that Nashville's newest vegetarian (in addition to Underwood, Shania Twain and Emmylou Harris also eschew meat) will pose for one of its iconic ad campaigns this year.

Posted by Michael McGraw

popcrunch/CC

Is there anything more surreal than surviving countless bouts of painfully truthful admissions from the number one most-feared judge on American reality television? Yeah, of course! Just ask Kellie Pickler. The country singer went head-to-head with Simon Cowell in season five of American Idol, but it turns out that she couldn't look her own food in the face and still finish her meal.

People Magazine reports that this country gal, who has been blazin' her own trail of stardom since her elimination from the show, has recently adopted a vegetarian diet. It looks like all that palling around with fellow vegetarian and friend Carrie Underwood has paid off—for Kellie's health and for animals. Oh, and did I mention that Kellie's decision was partly influenced by a Pamela Anderson television PSA that was put out by a somewhat well-known animal rights group that you might have heard of—ah, shucks, it was a PETA ad!

Kellie says: "One night I couldn't sleep, and I was up and just Googling random stuff, and I'm like, 'Hmmm, PETA.' I saw all the videos, and I just thought it was horrible. It's animal cruelty. A lot of it has to do with knowing what happens to the animals, and it really bothered me, and so I will not eat meat."

Props to Kellie for ditching her beefy ways. It's not always easy, especially when many of the songs in her music genre aren't so—shall we say—vegetarian-friendly. The former rare meat junkie says she already feels healthier, and that is a mighty good thing considering that she just released her self-titled second album.

Maybe on her next album she can sing about pigs in gestation crates or veal calves confined to tiny stalls. No?

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky