Kellie Pickler photo by Tony Baker, courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

In her current video for “Didn’t You Know How Much I Love You,” Kellie Pickler has some soggy-eyed moments as she deals with a broken relationship. The tears are authentic — she didn’t use onions or any kind of film-industry gimmicks to produce the moisture.

But they’re not really over an ex-boyfriend. Instead, Kellie turned to a different kind of relationship in her past and used her grief over a departed family member to get the emotion she needed for the camera.

“The director, he told me, ‘I want to get a shot of you cryin’,’” Kellie recalls. “I’m like, ‘Okay, I’ve never done this before.’ He gave me a few minutes to kind of take myself to a place that would make me cry. So I just… started thinking about my grandmother. My grandma raised me, and she passed away when I was 15, and so I still have a hard time. I struggle every day with accepting the fact that she’s not here anymore. Then I got to thinkin’ about how difficult it is for me that she’s not here with me at this particular moment, on this video shoot. I just kind of took myself to that place, and it just came pourin’ out.”

“Didn’t You Know How Much I Love You” has done quite well for Kellie. The single is currently in the Top 25 on the Country Aircheck chart, and the video, shot partially on a beach in the Dominican Republic, is at No. 3 on this weekend’s edition of GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown. The countdown premieres at 8 p.m. ET on Friday and airs throughout the weekend.  Check the complete schedule for times »

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