Hailing from Cedartown, Georgia,
Sam Hunt, 30, is a former college football player turned singer/songwriter. In 2007, he was asked by the NFL to come to a Kansas City Chiefs training camp, but two fruitless months later, he decided to give it all up and follow his dream of making it big in the music business. Hunt moved to the home of country music, Nashville, with a friend, in an attempt to kick start his music career. This move came as a total surprise to his friends and family as they were unaware that he was interested in the music industry. Starting out strongly, Hunt co-wrote country star Kenny Chesney's 2012 hit Come Over, receiving an ASCAP award for his efforts. He then went on to write two singles that were released in 2014, one for Keith Urban called Cop Car and one for Billy Currington called We Are Tonight. He also released a free mixtape called Between the Pines through his website as well as co-writing the song Love Somebody, the title tune from Reba McEntire’s studio album, which was completed in 2015.
His own album, Montevallo, spawned three chart-toppers, Take Your Time, House Party and Leave the Night On, making Hunt the first country singer to manage to get all of his debut album’s singles into the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Hunt has become known throughout the country music industry for his eclectic mix of pop and R&B that permeates all of his songs, making him a big hit with fans and critics alike. “I always loved country music - I used to take the car keys from my mom and sit in our driveway listening to the car radio. But I was also hearing a lot of other music – hip-hop and R&B. In some ways, that really gospel-based Southern R&B might be my favourite of all,” Hunt said on his official biography.
