richell rene wright (; born october 25, 1970), known professionally as chely wright, is an american country music singer and activist. on the strength of her debut album in 1994, the academy of country music (acm) named her top new female vocalist in 1995. wright's first top 40 country hit came in 1997 with "shut up and drive". two years later, her fourth album yielded a number one single, the title track, "single white female". overall, wright has released seven studio albums on various labels, and has charted more than fifteen singles on the country charts. as of may 2010, wright's previous eight albums and 19 singles released had sold over 1,500,000 copies and 10,000,000 digital impressions to date in the united states. in may 2010, wright became one of the first major country music performers to publicly come out as lesbian. in television appearances and an autobiography, she cited among her reasons for publicizing her homosexuality a concern with bullying and hate crimes toward gays, particularly gay teenagers, and the damage to her life caused by "lying and hiding".