Ernest | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Ernest Keith Smith [1] |
Born | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | January 11, 1992
Genres | Country [1] |
Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
Years active | 2017–present |
Labels | Big Loud |
Website | ernestofficial |
Ernest Keith Smith, (born January 11, 1992) known mononymously as just Ernest (stylized as ERNEST), is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released three studio albums: Locals Only (2019), Flower Shops (The Album) (2022), and Nashville, Tennessee (2024). He has also written songs recorded by Morgan Wallen, Jake Owen, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Chris Lane, and Jelly Roll. His songs are produced by Joey Moi. [2]
Ernest was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee and attended Lipscomb Academy there. He took an interest in hip hop music at an early age, citing the Space Jam soundtrack that he listened to in sixth grade as well as Eminem, John Mayer, and George Strait as his main influences. [2] At age 19, he suffered a heart attack brought on by a viral infection. [3] He developed a drug addiction while in college playing baseball in the National Junior College Athletic Association. After recovering, he moved back to Nashville and began writing and recording songs, in the bro-country style with Matt Royer, the brother of his now wife, who owned a recording studio. This association led to him co-writing the title track of Florida Georgia Line's 2016 album Dig Your Roots . The following year, recording under the mononym Ernest, he released country rap singles: "Dopeman" and "Bad Boy". [1]
After writing songs for Chris Lane and Jake Owen, in September 2019, Ernest signed a recording contract and management agreement with Big Loud, the label to which both Owen and Lane are signed. [4]
In April 2020, Ernest launched a podcast, Just Being Ernest, in which he talks to other musicians about the music industry. He recorded 50 episodes, mostly during the COVID-19 pandemic. [5]
Ernest had further success as a songwriter in 2020 with Lane's "Big, Big Plans", Morgan Wallen's "More Than My Hometown", and Sam Hunt's "Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90s". He also released his first single for Big Loud, titled "Cheers". [6]
Ernest was a co-writer on labelmate Dallas Smith's single "Hide from a Broken Heart", released in November 2021. [7]
He released "Flower Shops", a duet with Wallen, in December 2021. [8]
In April 2024, he performed at Stagecoach Festival, also appearing in songs with Morgan Wallen and Willie Nelson. [2]
Ernest is married to Delaney Royer and they have a son, Ryman, named after Ryman Auditorium. In 2022, they bought a farm with a greenhouse and chicken coop on 5 acres near Nashville. [9] [2] He frequently posts to TikTok and his wife handles his digital content. [2] He is interested in fashion and has been friends with Mookie Betts since he was 8 years old; they often competed playing baseball. [2] He attended Freed–Hardeman University but later dropped out because he wanted to do music.
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
US [10] | US Country [11] | ||
Locals Only [12] |
| — | — |
Flower Shops (The Album) |
| 150 | 12 |
Nashville, Tennessee |
| 170 | 34 |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart |
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Flower Shops (The Album): Two Dozen Roses |
|
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [14] | US Country [15] | US Country Airplay [16] | CAN [17] | CAN Country [18] | WW [19] | ||||
2017 | "Doperman" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
"Bad Boy" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
2019 | "I Think I Love You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Locals Only | |
2020 | "Cheers" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
2021 | "American Rust" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2022 | "Flower Shops" (featuring Morgan Wallen) | 64 | 13 | 18 | 62 | 16 | 192 | Flower Shops (The Album) | |
2024 | "Cowgirls" (Morgan Wallen featuring Ernest) | 12 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 47 |
| One Thing at a Time |
"Would If I Could" | — | — | 60 | — | — | — | Nashville, Tennessee | ||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart |
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [21] | US Country [15] | NZ Hot [22] | |||
2024 | "Hangin' On" (with Morgan Wallen) | — | 37 | 38 | Nashville, Tennessee |
"Devil I've Been" (Post Malone featuring Ernest) | 66 | — | — | F-1 Trillion |
Craig Michael Wiseman is an American Country music songwriter and producer, and the owner/founder of the Big Loud enterprise. He has been writing since the late 1980s, and his songs have been recorded by Lorrie Morgan, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton, and numerous other acts. He has written twenty-six No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs music charts, and has won a number of industry awards. In 2009, he was named "Songwriter of the Decade" by the Nashville Songwriters Association International, and in 2015, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Joey Moi is a Canadian record producer, audio engineer, mixer, songwriter, and musician. He is known for his work with the rock groups Nickelback and My Darkest Days, and country music acts Chris Lane, Dallas Smith, Florida Georgia Line, Jake Owen, and Morgan Wallen.
Ryan Edward Upchurch, known as Upchurch, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and comedian from Cheatham County, on the outskirts of Nashville. Upchurch became popular primarily as a comedian, creating videos on various platforms to garner support and fans. He sold merchandise and coined the phrase "raise hell and eat cornbread". Originally considered a "country rapper", Ryan Upchurch has diversified into many genres including rap, rock, and country.
Morgan Cole Wallen is an American country pop singer. He competed in the sixth season of The Voice, originally as a member of Usher's team, but later as a member of Adam Levine's team. After being eliminated in the playoffs of that season, he signed to Panacea Records, releasing his debut EP, Stand Alone, in 2015.
Big Loud is an American independent multi-sector entertainment company located in Nashville. It consists of a record label, along with music publishing and talent management divisions. Big Loud was founded in 2013 by Craig Wiseman, Joey Moi, Kevin "Chief" Zaruk, and Seth England. Artists who have recorded for Big Loud include Florida Georgia Line, Morgan Wallen, Chris Lane, Dallas Smith, and Hardy.
"The Way I Talk" is a song recorded by American country music singer Morgan Wallen. The song was written by Jessi Alexander, Ben Hayslip, and Chase McGill. It was Wallen's debut single and the lead single from his debut studio album If I Know Me.
The American singer Morgan Wallen has released three studio albums, four EPs, 25 singles, seven promotional singles, and 13 music videos. On the US Billboard Hot 100 as of October 2024, Wallen has garnered two number-one songs with each spending multiple weeks atop the chart,. Wallen also has charted 69 songs on the US Billboard Hot 100 with 32 reaching the top-40, 20 reaching the top-20, 11 reaching the top-10, and three reaching the top-5. On the US Billboard 200, as of October 2024, Wallen has accumulated two number one albums with both peaking the chart for ten consecutive weeks or longer, and has accumulated 29 weeks at number one on the US Billboard 200, only Garth Brooks having more weeks at number one for a country music artist.
Michael Wilson Hardy, known professionally as HARDY, is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has written songs for Florida Georgia Line, Chris Lane, Blake Shelton, Dallas Smith, Thomas Rhett, and Morgan Wallen. He released his debut album A Rock for Big Loud Records, as well as the mixtape Hixtape, Vol. 1. His singles "Give Heaven Some Hell", "One Beer", "Wait in the Truck" and "Truck Bed" charted in the US and Canada and he was featured on the Dallas Smith song "Some Things Never Change". His album, The Mockingbird & the Crow, topped the country music charts in early 2023.
"Heartless" is a song by American producer Diplo featuring American country music singer Morgan Wallen. It was released through Mad Decent and Columbia Records on August 16, 2019. The music video was directed by Brandon Dermer and premiered on September 5, 2019.
"Cover Me Up" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Jason Isbell. It is the first track on his 2013 studio album Southeastern.
"7 Summers" is a song by American country music singer Morgan Wallen from his second studio album, Dangerous: The Double Album (2021). Wallen wrote the song along with Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, and it was produced by Joey Moi. Wallen did not originally intend to include the song on the album, but following a demo version of the song gaining popularity on social media, he decided on its inclusion. The song was officially released as the second single of the album on August 14, 2020. A country and soft rock track, it features suspended chords and guitar layering. Lyrically, Wallen sings of his lost love and reminisces about their romance that took place, as the title suggests, seven summers ago.
Dangerous: The Double Album is the second studio album by American country music singer Morgan Wallen. The double album was released on January 8, 2021, via Big Loud Records and Republic Records on CD, vinyl, and digital download. The production on the album was handled by Joey Moi, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome, Matt Dragstrem and Dave Cohen. It also features guest appearances by Chris Stapleton and Ben Burgess.
"Dangerous" is a song recorded by American country music singer Morgan Wallen. It was from his second studio album Dangerous: The Double Album. The song was co-wrote by Wallen and Ernest Keith Smith, and produced by Joey Moi.
"Wasted on You" is a song by American country music singer Morgan Wallen, released to country radio on March 7, 2022, as the fourth single and final single from his 2021 album Dangerous: The Double Album. Wallen wrote the song with Ryan Vojtesak, Ernest Keith Smith, and Josh Thompson. Before its release as a single, "Wasted on You" topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart at the time of the album's release in January 2021.
"Flower Shops" is a song by American country music artist Ernest featuring country music singer Morgan Wallen. It was released on December 31, 2021 as the lead single from Ernest's second studio album Flower Shops . The song was written by Ben Burgess, Ernest and Mark Holman, and produced by Joey Moi. It also marks the two artists' first collaboration.
Flower Shops (The Album) is the second studio album by American country music singer Ernest. It was released on March 11, 2022, via Big Loud. The album contains the single "Flower Shops", a duet with Morgan Wallen.
Corey Kent White is an American country music singer from Frisco, Texas signed to RCA Nashville.
Megan Ann Moroney is an American country music singer and songwriter from Douglasville, Georgia. She charted her second single, "Tennessee Orange", in 2022. Her debut album Lucky was released in May 2023, reaching the top 40 of the Billboard 200. She released her second album, Am I Okay?, in summer 2024. The first promotional single off the album, "Am I Okay", charted in the US.
"Lies Lies Lies" is a song by American country music singer Morgan Wallen. It was released on July 5, 2024, as the lead single from his upcoming fourth studio album. The song was written by Jessie Jo Dillon, Josh Miller, Daniel Ross and Chris Tompkins, and produced by Joey Moi.