Lonestar is an American country music group from Texas. The group consists of Drew Womack, Michael Britt, Dean Sams, and Keech Rainwater (drums). Britt, Sams, and Rainwater co-founded the band in 1992 with original lead vocalist Richie McDonald and bass guitarist/vocalist John Rich. Rich exited the band in 1998 and went on to join Big Kenny as one-half of the duo Big & Rich. Since his departure, Lonestar has relied alternatingly on session and touring musicians for bass guitar accompaniment. McDonald exited the band in 2007 to record as a solo artist, and was replaced by former McAlyster vocalist Cody Collins before returning in 2011. McDonald left a second time in 2021 to join The Frontmen, with former Sons of the Desert lead vocalist Drew Womack replacing him.
Restless Heart was an American country music band from Nashville, Tennessee. The band's longest-tenured lineup consisted of Larry Stewart, John Dittrich, Paul Gregg, Dave Innis, and Greg Jennings. Record producer Tim DuBois assembled the band in 1984 to record demos and chose Verlon Thompson as the original lead singer, but Thompson was replaced by Stewart in this role before the band had recorded any material. Between 1984 and 1998, Restless Heart recorded for RCA Records Nashville. They released the albums Restless Heart, Wheels, Big Dreams in a Small Town, and Fast Movin' Train in the 1980s.
John Rich is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar, co-writing his inaugural #1 hit song called "Come Cryin'To Me" and sharing lead vocal duties with Richie McDonald. Departing from Lonestar in 1998, he ventured into a solo career under BNA Records in the late 1990s, where he released two singles and recorded "Underneath the Same Moon", which was delayed until 2006. In 2001, he singlehandedly released "Rescue Me", an album inspired by a cancer patient named Katie Darnell. By 2003, he teamed up with Big Kenny to establish the duo Big & Rich, achieving success with three albums under Warner Bros. Records as well as ten singles, notably chart topper "Lost in This Moment". After Big & Rich went on hiatus in 2007, Rich began work on a third solo album, "Son of a Preacher Man", yielding two more chart singles including the Top Ten hit songs "Shutting Detroit Down." In 2011, he released two extended plays, "Rich Rocks" and "For the Kids", before re-vitalizing Big & Rich in 2012. They launched "Big and Rich Records" in 2014, experiencing considerable success with big hits like "Look At You", "Loving Lately", and "Run Away With You."
"Amazed" is a song by American country music group Lonestar, released on March 22, 1999, to country radio as the second single from their third studio album Lonely Grill (1999). The power ballad is the band's longest-lasting number one single and biggest hit, spending eight weeks at the top of the Billboard country chart. The song was written by Marv Green, Aimee Mayo, and Chris Lindsey. A pop remix of the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts in 2000. The song has sold over 1,650,000 digital copies in the US as of February 2016.
Sons of the Desert was an American country music band founded in 1989 in Waco, Texas. Its most famous lineup consisted of brothers Drew Womack and Tim Womack, along with Scott Saunders (keyboards), Doug Virden, and Brian Westrum (drums). The band released Whatever Comes First for Epic Records Nashville in 1997, and recorded a second album for Epic which was not released. Change followed in 2000. Counting two singles from the unreleased album, Sons of the Desert charted eight times on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the top ten hit "Whatever Comes First"; they were also guest vocalists on Lee Ann Womack's 2000 hit "I Hope You Dance" and Ty Herndon's "It Must Be Love", both of which reached No. 1 on that chart. Following the band's disestablishment, Drew Womack became a solo artist; he would join Lonestar in 2021.
3 of Hearts is the eponymous debut studio album by American girl group 3 of Hearts. It was released on July 24, 2001, through the record label RCA Nashville. 3 of Hearts is a teen pop and country music album, though according to some music critics, it leans more towards pop music. The album was managed by American producer Byron Gallimore; its marketing focused on the group's crossover appeal to target a teenaged and young-adult audience. 3 of Hearts performed on two national tours sponsored by Seventeen magazine and Walmart respectively, and the singers were featured in several marketing campaigns.
Lonely Grill is the third studio album by American country music group Lonestar, released in the United States on June 1, 1999, by BNA Records. It reached number 28 on the Billboard 200 chart, and number three on the Top Country Albums chart. With sales of three million copies in the United States, it has been certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA. This was Lonestar's first studio album to have a crossover-friendly country-pop sound, which was a departure from their earlier neotraditional country sound. It is also their first studio album to be recorded as a four-piece as bassist and second lead vocalist John Rich left the band the previous year in 1998. Instead of replacing him with a new member, the band hired several session bassists to play the album's bass parts.
BBR Music Group is an American record label based in Nashville. Founded in July 1999 by Benny Brown, the label specializes in country music. The label's executive vice president is Jon Loba.
Richard Vance McDonald is an American country music singer and songwriter. From 1994 until his departure in 2007, he was the lead singer of the group Lonestar, which recorded seven studio albums on BNA Records during his tenure as lead vocalist. For the first seven years of the band's existence, he alternated with then-bassist John Rich as vocalist. McDonald became the sole lead vocalist of Lonestar following Rich's departure. McDonald co-wrote several of the band's singles, and sang lead on all but one of them; he would rejoin the band in 2011 before exiting again in 2021 to perform with The Frontmen. Outside Lonestar, he has charted twice as a guest vocalist on others' songs, in addition to releasing two independent albums and four solo singles.
Alexander Richard Ludwig is a Canadian actor and country musician. He first began his career as a child, and then received recognition as a teenager for starring in the films The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007) and Race to Witch Mountain (2009). He is also known for starring as Cato in The Hunger Games (2012).
"I'm Already There" is a song recorded by American country music band Lonestar, written by lead singer Richie McDonald along with Gary Baker and Frank J. Myers. It was released in March 2001 as the lead-off single to their fourth studio album of the same name. It spent six weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. The song was the band's fifth consecutive Number One, and their seventh overall.
Party Heard Around the World is the eighth studio album by American country music group Lonestar, released on April 27, 2010. It is the band's first studio album since 2006's Mountains. It debuted at No. 20 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and No. 100 on the Billboard 200, selling 5,000 copies in its first week. It is the only album to feature Cody Collins on lead vocals since Richie McDonald left in 2007 to pursue a solo career then returned the following year.
Tyler Reed Hubbard is an American singer-songwriter, and musician, best known as a member of the Nashville-based duo Florida Georgia Line. After that duo went on hiatus in 2021, Hubbard began recording as a solo artist on EMI Nashville. His first solo chart entry was a guest vocalist on Tim McGraw's "Undivided", followed by his first solo single "5 Foot 9", which topped the Billboard Country Airplay charts in 2022. He released his self-titled debut album in 2023.
Michael Rhodes was an American bass player, known for his session work and touring in support of other artists, and his collaborations in bands and ensembles.
Restless Road is an American country music band based in Nashville, Tennessee. The band is made up of Zach Beeken, Garrett Nichols, and Colton Pack who originally auditioned solo for the third season of the American singing competition series The X Factor before performing as a group on the show. The band signed a record deal with Sony Music Nashville and released their debut, self-titled EP in 2020. Their debut album was released in 2023. They have also written songs for Rascal Flatts, Granger Smith, David James, and Kane Brown.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2021.
Chapel Hart, originally known as Hyperphlyy, is an American country music vocal group from Poplarville, Mississippi. The group consists of sisters Danica Hart and Devynn Hart, and their cousin Trea Swindle, all three of whom are vocalists. Chapel Hart has independently released three studio albums and eleven singles. In July 2022, they competed in the seventeenth season of America's Got Talent, where they finished fifth. The group's music is defined by their vocal harmony and influence from other female country acts. The group's most popular song is "You Can Have Him Jolene", an answer song to Dolly Parton's "Jolene".
Lainey Denay Wilson is an American country music singer-songwriter. Wilson performed from an early age, before going to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a career as a country performer. In 2014, she released her first album on Cupit, followed by a second on Lone Chief in 2016. Wilson secured a publishing deal and later released an extended play (EP) in 2019, which included the song "Things a Man Oughta Know". In 2020, it was issued as a single through the BBR Music Group and eventually reached number one on the American country songs chart.
Kenneth "K-Fam" Fambro is an American songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist best known for producing and co-writing for Boyz II Men, Destiny's Child, and Robyn, among others. Fambro, a pianist and drummer by ear, was an early protégé of Antonio "L.A." Reid, who brought him to LaFace Records / Arista Records where he worked alongside production outfit Organized Noize. This opportunity resulted in placements on Boyz II Men's Full Circle, Sam Salter single "Once My Sh..", "Now That She's Gone" from Destiny's Child album The Writing's on the Wall, and single "Ya Di Ya" from Gina Thompson and rapper Missy Elliott, as well as contributions on various 112 projects. Fambro recently contributed to country/trap artist Blanco Brown's 2019 debut album Honeysuckle & Lightning Bugs.
Good Day for Living is the tenth studio album by American country music artist Joe Nichols. It was released on February 11, 2022, via Quartz Hill. Three singles have been released from the album, including its title track, which became Nichols' first top 20 hit on the Billboard Country Airplay chart since 2014.
