Ryan Follese

Ryan Keith Follesé, an American singer and songwriter, leads the rock group Hot Chelle Rae while also pursuing a separate path as a country soloist. He came into the world in Nashville in 1987, raised amid country sounds by his songwriter parents Keith, whose credits include work with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and Adrienne, who has collaborated with Martina McBride and Lady Antebellum. In 2005 he started a project called Miracle Drug alongside his guitarist friend Nash Overstreet. Still unsigned, the duo added bassist Ian Keaggy and Follesé’s younger brother Jamie on drums before settling on the name Hot Chelle Rae for the band. That ensemble later reached listeners in 2011 with the track “Tonight, Tonight,” a song written by Follesé himself. After issuing several albums together, Follesé opted to reconnect with his country beginnings and launched a solo career in 2016. He joined Big Machine that June and delivered his opening single within days. The easygoing summer number “Float Your Boat” let him apply his talent for pop melodies while layering in a Southern accent. This transition from pop and rock into pop-country territory set the tone for the debut project he readied for release later that same year.