Morgan Evans

Morgan Evans launched his professional path as a singer and songwriter within his native Australia during 2012, issuing his self-titled debut album two years afterward. Sleek country-pop material broadened his reach in 2017 once an international record contract triggered the arrival of Things That We Drink To in 2018 along with its hit single "Kiss Somebody." Domestically he captured an ARIA Award for Best Country Album, while stateside the set climbed inside the Top Ten of Billboard's Country chart. "Love Is Real," taken from The Country and the Coast (Side A) EP, carried him into the Top 50 of the Country Airplay chart, and he resurfaced on that tally in 2023 via the reflective single "Over for You" from the Life Upside Down EP. A return to Australian stages was documented on 2024's Live at the Sydney Opera House.

Born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia on April 24, 1985, Evans began performing music at a young age under the influence of fellow Australian country star Keith Urban. At age 13 he assembled his first band, then gained wider notice by winning the 2007 installment of the Telstra Road to Tamworth competition. Immediately afterward he issued his earliest single, "Big Skies," in September 2007. By 2012 he had joined the Australasia division of Warner Music, which delivered the EP Live Each Day that January and While We're Young the following August. His visibility increased through support slots on major tours, among them Alan Jackson's shows and Taylor Swift's Australian dates behind her album Red.

Evans cut his namesake debut album in Nashville, Tennessee alongside producer Jedd Hughes. Released in March 2014, Morgan Evans ascended to the summit of the Australian country charts and peaked at number 20 on the pop albums survey, propelled by the singles "One Eye for an Eye" and "Like a Tornado." Further Country Music Channel Awards followed in 2014, among them Oz Artist of the Year. Expanding fame also yielded television opportunities, including co-hosting the 2016 CMC Music Awards alongside American country star Kelsea Ballerini; the two later began a relationship and married. Evans relocated to Nashville in 2015 and commenced sessions with producer Chris DeStefano for an album aimed at global audiences. Traction arrived with 2017's "Kiss Somebody" in the U.S., and together with "Day Drunk" the tracks drove his second album, Things That We Drink To, to number nine on the Billboard country chart. In Australia the project performed even stronger, reaching number five on the pop chart and securing an ARIA Award. Following the standalone 2019 single "Diamonds," Evans initiated a fresh chapter with the 2021 EP The Country and the Coast (Side A).

After his divorce from Ballerini in late 2022 he released the heartbroken ballad "Over for You" as the lead single from his 2023 EP Life Upside Down. His inaugural concert album, Live at the Sydney Opera House, appeared in April 2024.