Michael Ray (singer)
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Michael Ray Roach (born April 29, 1988) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is signed to Warner Music Nashville. He has released two albums for the label: Michael Ray and Amos.
Biography
Ray was born in Eustis, Florida. He was inspired by his grandfather Amos "Wilson" Roach, who played music for him and taught him how to play guitar, in addition to having him perform at assisted living centers. Ray chose to form a band in southern Florida after graduating high school, and a disc jockey at WPCV began playing his music. He released an album independently in 2010, which was discovered by manager Tony Conway.
Ray was mentored by John Rich of Big & Rich on the singing competition The Next: Fame Is at Your Doorstep, which he won. He and Rich co-wrote Big & Rich's 2015 single, "Run Away with You". After winning the competition, Ray was signed to Warner Bros. Records Nashville. His first EP, Tour Bootleg, was released in 2014. Two of the EP's tracks, "Kiss You in the Morning" (which went to number one on the Country Airplay charts in 2015) and "Think a Little Less," appeared later on his self-titled second album, released in 2015, becoming his first and third singles, respectively. The track "Real Men Love Jesus" was named as Ray's second single. Ray supported the album with a tour.
On June 16, 2017, Ray released the single "Get to You" ahead of his third studio album, Amos. After the album's release in 2018, it produced two more singles: "One That Got Away" and "Her World or Mine." It was produced by Scott Hendricks. In September 2020, Ray released the single "Whiskey and Rain" ahead of his fourth studio album, originally set to be released in 2021.
Personal life
Michael Ray has one sister and two half sisters. His father is Jerry Roach.
On July 19, 2018, Ray confirmed that he had started dating country singer Carly Pearce. They were engaged on December 19, 2018. and married on October 6, 2019 on a farm in Goodlettsville, Tennessee northeast of Nashville. In June 2020, Pearce filed for divorce from Ray after eight months of marriage.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | AUS | |||
| Michael Ray | Release date: January 29, 2010 Label: Self-released Formats: CD, digital download | — | — | — | |
| Michael Ray | Release date: August 7, 2015 Label: Atlantic Nashville Formats: CD, digital download | 4 | 21 | 60 | US: 51,000 |
| Amos | Release date: June 1, 2018 Label: Atlantic Nashville Formats: CD, digital download | 5 | 53 | — | US: 16,600 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |
Extended plays
| Title | EP details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Heat | ||
| Tour Bootleg | Release date: November 2014 Label: Warner Bros. Nashville Formats: Digital download | — | — |
| Kiss You in the Morning | Release date: April 28, 2015 Label: Warner Bros. Nashville Formats: CD, digital download | 37 | 15 |
| Higher Education | Release date: August 27, 2021 Label: Warner Bros. Nashville Formats: CD, digital download | — | — |
| Dive Bars & Broken Hearts | Release date: June 23, 2023 Label: Warner Bros. Nashville Formats: CD, digital download | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Country Airplay | US | CAN Country | CAN | |||||
| 2015 | "Kiss You in the Morning" | 10 | 1 | 55 | 13 | 73 | US: 308,000 | RIAA: Gold MC: Gold | Michael Ray |
| "Real Men Love Jesus" | 28 | 17 | — | 44 | — | US: 66,000 | |||
| 2016 | "Think a Little Less" | 3 | 2 | 54 | 23 | — | US: 278,000 | RIAA: Platinum | |
| 2017 | "Get to You" | 17 | 15 | — | 43 | — | US: 121,000 | RIAA: Gold | Amos |
| 2018 | "One That Got Away" | 10 | 3 | 67 | 7 | — | US: 37,000 | RIAA: Gold | |
| 2019 | "Her World or Mine" | 31 | 22 | — | 39 | — | RIAA: Gold | ||
| 2020 | "Whiskey and Rain" | 6 | 1 | 37 | — | — | RIAA: Platinum | Higher Education | |
| 2022 | "Holy Water" | — | 32 | — | — | — | |||
| 2023 | "Spirits and Demons" (with Meghan Patrick) | — | 35 | — | — | — | Dive Bars & Broken Hearts | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |
Notes
Other charted songs
| Year | Song | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | |||
| 2015 | "Another Girl" | 50 | Michael Ray |
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "Kiss You in the Morning" | Edgar Esteves |
| "Real Men Love Jesus" | Sam Siske | |
| 2016 | "Think a Little Less" | Cody Kern |
| 2017 | "Think a Little Less" | Jack Guy |
| 2018 | "Get to You" | Unlisted |
| "Fan Girl" | ||
| "Her World or Mine" | ||
| "Summer Water" | ||
| 2019 | "One That Got Away" | Sean Hagwell |
| "Her World or Mine" | Daniel Carberry and Keenan O'Reilly | |
| 2020 | "Whiskey and Rain" | Unlisted |
| 2021 | "Picture" | |
| "Just the Way I Am" | ||
| "Higher Education" (featuring Kid Rock, Lee Brice, Billy Gibbons, and Tim Montana) | ||
| 2022 | "Holy Water" |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award show | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | American Country Countdown Awards | Breakthrough Male of the Year | Nominated |
External links
- at Warner Music Nashville
- - on CarbonTV