Cam

Emerging among a wave of singer/songwriters who reject strict pop or country boundaries, Cam channels her storytelling gift and resistance to formula into music that stands apart. Her Grammy-nominated 2015 single “Burning House,” taken from the debut album Untamed, demonstrates these qualities through a ballad positioned equidistant from Fleetwood Mac and the Chicks; its haunting melody propelled the track to multi-platinum status. Later singles “Diane” and “Classic,” both drawn from the 2020 release The Otherside, illustrated her ease with contemporary pop production while retaining classic country craftsmanship. The same range appears in her outside writing, which includes work with Diplo, Sam Smith, Miley Cyrus, and, on 2024’s Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé.

Born Camaron Ochs in Huntington Beach, California, she spent her childhood in the small northern community of Lafayette. Frequent visits to her grandparents’ rural home in Oceanside exposed her to country living and the recordings of Patsy Cline. After completing a psychology degree, Camaron began writing songs and, equipped with a strong, clear voice, moved to Los Angeles to pursue music professionally. Early material followed a contemporary pop direction; under the name Camaron Ochs she issued the album Heartforward in 2010. By 2012 she had shortened the name first to Cam Ochs and then simply Cam, shifting toward country material.

Relocating to Nashville, Tennessee, she funded and recorded a 2013 album via Kickstarter that featured songwriter-producer Tyler Johnson, known for his work with Taylor Swift and P!nk, along with producer Jeff Bhasker, whose credits include Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, and Fun. One track from those sessions, “Down This Road,” co-written by Cam, Johnson, and Douglas Charles Showalter, earned regular airplay on Nashville’s WSIX-FM despite the absence of a label deal; she had already made the recording available digitally herself. Cam promoted the project through extensive live work, sharing stages with Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn, Vince Gill, and Dan + Shay.

In early 2015 she signed with Arista Nashville/RCA Records, which issued the four-song EP Welcome to Cam Country digitally. The full-length Untamed, again produced by Bhasker and Johnson, arrived later that year and reached number two on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart while placing in the top 15 of the Billboard 200. Its lead single “Burning House” peaked at number two on Country Airplay and number 29 on the Top 40, earning Grammy, ACM, and CMA nominations on its way to multi-platinum certification. After that single’s long chart run, “Mayday” was released in 2016 and climbed to number 36 on Country Airplay. In 2017 Cam issued “Diane,” written as a direct reply to Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” A series of digital singles followed as she moved from Arista Nashville to RCA Records proper. The Otherside, her first RCA album and a joint release with the Triple Tigers label formed by Sony Music and Thirty Tigers, appeared in October 2020. Once more produced by Bhasker and Johnson, it yielded the singles “Till There’s Nothing Left” and “Classic,” featured contributions from Jack Antonoff, and included Harry Styles whistling on a version of his song “Changes.” The title track was co-written with Tim Bergling, known as Avicii, while Sam Smith co-wrote “Happier for You.”

In 2021 Cam joined Ross Copperman for the single “Everything Changes” and Wrabel for “london,” the latter becoming a major streaming success; she also released the holiday song “Believe.” Her involvement in one of 2024’s most prominent releases, Beyoncé’s country-inspired Cowboy Carter, encompassed songwriting, production, and backing vocals on five tracks: “American Requiem,” “Protector,” “Daughter,” “Tyrant,” and “Amen.”