HunterGirl
{{short description|American singer-songwriter}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = HunterGirl
| image = HunterGirl 19 BMG Idol Takeover 2025.jpg
| caption = HunterGirl approaches the stage to perform at the 2025 19/Idol/BMG CMA Fest Takeover in Nashville, TN.
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Winchester, Tennessee, United States
| genre = Country
| occupation = Singer-songwriter
| instrument = Vocals, guitar
| years_active = 2021–present
| label = Wheelhouse
19 Recordings
| associated_acts =
| website = {{URL|https://www.huntergirlsmusic.com/}}
}}
Hunter Wolkonowski, known professionally as HunterGirl, is an American country music singer-songwriter from Winchester, Tennessee signed to Wheelhouse and 19 Recordings. She was the runner-up on the twentieth season of American Idol in 2022.
Background
HunterGirl adopted her stage name due to the difficulty in people pronouncing her last name correctly growing up, and from the way others would differentiate her as "the girl Hunter" from all the boys who shared her name.{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/american-idol-huntergirl-stage-name-nickname-explained-songs/|title=American Idol: HunterGirl Reveals Origin Of Her Stage Name|author=Lorianne Palinkas|date=May 26, 2022|website=Screen Rant|accessdate=March 29, 2024}} HunterGirl began writing songs at age 9 and moved to Nashville at age 18, eventually trying out for American Idol and coming in second place on the show's twentieth season in 2022.{{cite web|url=https://people.com/huntergirl-aint-about-you-exclusive-7964687|title=HunterGirl Held onto New Single 'Ain't About You' for Years Before She Let Anyone Take a Listen (Exclusive)|author=Tricia Despres|date=September 5, 2023|magazine=People|accessdate=March 29, 2024}} After her stint on the show, HunterGirl signed a joint deal with Wheelhouse and 19 Recordings, and "Ain't About You" was released on October 23, 2023, as her debut single to country radio. She wrote it when she was contemplating giving up performing after unsuccessfully chasing her dreams in Nashville for five years, right before she auditioned for American Idol, and had no intention of letting anyone hear the song at first. But when executive vice president of BBR Music Group Jon Loba heard it, he insisted on it becoming a single. After release, it was believed to be the first instance of a female country singer on a major label's debut single being entirely self-written since Mary Chapin Carpenter ("How Do") in 1989.{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/country/huntergirl-aint-about-you-makin-trakcs-1235461352/|title=HunterGirl Talks Putting Her Dreams on the Line With Intimate Debut Single 'Ain't About You'|author=Tom Roland|date=November 1, 2023|magazine=Billboard|accessdate=March 29, 2024}} It received 46 first-week station adds and charted on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.{{cite web|url=https://americansongwriter.com/huntergirl-on-becoming-the-first-female-in-over-30-years-to-write-her-own-debut-single/|title=HunterGirl on Becoming the First Country Female in Over 30 Years to Write Her Own Debut Single|author=Alex Hopper|date=October 28, 2023|website=American Songwriter|accessdate=March 29, 2024}} Her debut EP, Tennessee Girl, was released on June 7, 2024.
Discography
=Extended plays=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of EPs, with selected details, chart positions and sales ! rowspan="1" style="width:8em;"| Title ! rowspan="1" style="width:18em;"| Album details |
| scope="row" |Tennessee Girl{{cite web|url=https://www.bbrmusicgroup.com/now-american-idol-breakout-huntergirl-releases-label-debut-ep-tennessee-girl/|title=Out Now: American Idol Breakout HunterGirl Releases Label-Debut EP, Tennessee Girl|date=June 7, 2024|website=BBR Music Group|access-date=June 14, 2024}}
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|
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=Singles=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions ! rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Title ! rowspan="2"| Year ! colspan="1"| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2" | Album |
| style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="45"| US Country Airplay |
| scope="row" | "Ain't About You"
| 2023 | Tennessee Girl |
|---|