Ricky Montgomery

A contemporary singer/songwriter who first drew listeners through social media virality, Ricky Montgomery merges flowing tunes with emo theatrics and delivers them via a sincere, trembling vocal style that sits midway between Owl City and Morrissey. He illustrated this approach on the tracks “Line Without a Hook” and “Mr. Loverman,” which exploded across platforms in 2020—nearly five years after they were first tracked. Warner responded to the unexpected resurgence by offering a recording deal, prompting the artist to refine his approach for the 2022 EP It’s 2016 Somewhere. Several warmly tuneful singles, among them the richly textured “Eraser” and the brooding “Black Fins,” paved the way for his second full-length, Rick, which arrived in late 2023.

Born in Los Angeles on April 3, 1993, Ricky Montgomery moved to St. Louis, Missouri, at fourteen. He navigated the transition by immersing himself in music; his listening habits soon fueled original material. He began uploading songs to a widely used video platform, pairing them with comedic elements that helped build an audience.

His debut official release, the EP Caught on the Moon, surfaced in 2014. Shortly thereafter he moved back to Los Angeles and, once resettled, issued Montgomery Ricky in 2016. The following year he joined old friend in the Honeysticks; the group released a self-titled EP in 2018 before the singer stepped away for the remainder of the year. He re-emerged tentatively with “Out Like a Light 2” in 2019 and followed it with “Cars” in 2020, yet remained unsure about continuing. At that point the older songs “Line Without a Hook” and “Mr. Loverman” resurfaced as social-media hits in 2020, four years after their appearance on Montgomery Ricky. Warner promptly signed him.

“Mr. Loverman” became his first Warner single in 2021, arriving shortly after “Line Without a Hook.” Additional tracks—“Talk to You,” “Sorry for Me,” and “This December (slow)”—followed before year’s end. Early 2022 brought “Line Without a Hook (slow),” succeeded by the EP It’s 2016 Somewhere, which displayed a more polished and melodic direction. Throughout 2023 the artist issued several singles, including “Eraser,” “Black Fins,” and “Boy Toy,” ahead of Rick, his second album and first under Warner. Issued in September 2023, the record peaked at number 22 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. Two further singles, “It’s OK to Cry” and “Unknown Phantom,” arrived in early 2024.