HILLARY LINDSEY
Country Tunesmith

AGE 30
WHY HER She's one of Nashville's hottest behind-the-scenes commodities, co-writing Carrie Underwood's monster hits ''Jesus Take the Wheel'' and ''Wasted,'' plus some of the better recent album cuts from Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, and Bon Jovi.

BEFORE JESUS TOOK THE WHEEL The Georgia native was signed to Epic in 1998 after a SXSW showcase — then quickly dropped. Depressed, she ''ate a lot and got fat,'' then ''started writing every day'' and found her new career, earning her first No. 1 with McBride's ''Blessed.'' Between Carrie and Martina, she can say, ''Yeah, I love the belters.''