Season 5′s country cutie Kellie Pickler celebrates her 26th birthday today! Kellie has had an exciting year with a new album out and an Idol results show performance.

On January 24, Kellie released her third album, 100 Proof. The album debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 2 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Kellie returned to the Idol stage during the Season 11 Top 8 results show to perform “Where’s Tammy Wynette?” off of 100 Proof. Watch the performance.

Teens can vote for Kellie for the 2012 Teen Choice Awards in the “Choice Female Country Artist” category. Today, The Ellen Show replayed an episode from earlier this year which featured the hilarious Kellie Pickler as Ellen’s guest. Tomorrow, fans can catch Kellie performing at Milwaukee’s big music event, Summerfest.

Happy Birthday, Kellie!

We caught up with Kellie after her Season 11 performance. Hear what she had to say!