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 chartpositions 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 chartpositions 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 Sales figure given here 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: 278,000RIAA: Platinum 2017 "Get to You" 17 15 — 43 —US: 121,000 RIAA: Gold Amos 2018 "One That Got Away" 10 3 67 7 —US: 37,000RIAA: 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" — 35 — — — Dive Bars & Broken Hearts "—" denotes releases that did not chart Notes
Other charted songs Year Song Peakpositions 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" rowspan="4" "Fan Girl" "Her World or Mine" "Summer Water"2019 "One That Got Away" Sean Hagwell "Her World or Mine" Daniel Carberry and Keenan O'Reilly2020 "Whiskey and Rain" rowspan="5" 2021 "Picture" "Just the Way I Am" "Higher Education" )2022 "Holy Water"
Awards and nominations Year Award show Category Result2016American Country Countdown AwardsBreakthrough Male of the Year
References
External links
Michael Ray at Warner Music Nashville Michael Ray in Heartlandia - on CarbonTV