Thomas Rhett Akins, Jr. (born March 30, 1990), is an American country music singer and songwriter. His father is the singer Rhett Akins. Rhett has released three studio albums for Big Machine Records' Valory Music imprint: It Goes Like This (2013), Tangled Up (2015), and Life Changes (2017). These albums have produced twelve singles on the Hot Country and Country Airplay charts, with nine reaching the No. 1 position on the latter: "It Goes Like This", "Get Me Some of That", "Make Me Wanna", "Crash and Burn", "Die a Happy Man", "T-Shirt", "Star of the Show", "Craving You", and "Unforgettable". In addition to much of his own material, Rhett has written singles for Jason Aldean, Lee Brice, Florida Georgia Line, LoCash and Michael Ray.
Video Thomas Rhett
Early life
Rhett was born in Valdosta, Georgia, to singer Rhett Akins, and grew up knowing other singers including Tim McGraw and Brooks & Dunn. After learning to play drums while attending junior high school, Rhett later would go onstage with his father and play. In high school, he was part of a band named The High Heeled Flip Flops. Besides music, he did not have a career choice in mind. After high school, Rhett went to college at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee to study communications, mainly because his friends were going to college and he didn't know what else to do. Rhett's interest in music grew throughout the years and as a result he failed to keep his promise to his mom- he dropped out of college when he was 20 to pursue a career in music. One night while playing at a club, an executive from Big Machine Label Group approached him and offered him a publishing deal to write songs. He accepted and began writing many songs for the company.
Maps Thomas Rhett
Career
Songwriting
Rhett co-wrote the song "I Ain't Ready to Quit" on Jason Aldean's 2010 album My Kinda Party and signed a recording contract with Big Machine Records' Valory Music Group division in 2011. The album's first 21 weeks were spent in the top 40 of the Billboard 200; it also has sold 1.7 million in its first years of release. Rhett also co-wrote the 2013 singles "1994" by Jason Aldean, "Parking Lot Party" by Lee Brice, and "Round Here" by Florida Georgia Line. During the chart week of September 21, 2013, the Country Airplay chart included five songs within the top 10 that Rhett or his father had co-written, including "It Goes Like This".
2012-2015: It Goes Like This
In early 2012, he released his debut single, "Something to Do with My Hands", followed later that year by "Beer with Jesus". Both of these made top 30 on the Hot Country Songs charts. His third single, "It Goes Like This", topped the Country Airplay chart and also peaked at number 2 on the Hot Country Songs.
His debut album, also titled It Goes Like This, was released on October 29, 2013. The album's fourth single, "Get Me Some of That", became Rhett's second number 1 single in early 2014. The album's fifth single, "Make Me Wanna", was released to country radio on August 4, 2014. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart on March 7, 2015. In between the two singles, Rhett sang guest vocals along with Justin Moore on Brantley Gilbert's "Small Town Throwdown".
2015-2017: Tangled Up
On April 7, 2015, Rhett released a new single titled "Crash and Burn" which served as the lead single to his second studio album. The album, Tangled Up, was released on September 25. It reached at number one on the Country Airplay chart in September 2015. The album's second single, "Die a Happy Man" released to country radio on September 28, 2015. It reached at number one on the Country Airplay, Hot Country Songs and Canada Country chart in December 2015. and January 2016. It stayed at number one on the Country Airplay chart for 8 weeks, becoming the second song in the chart's history to do so. The album's third single, "T-Shirt" released to country radio on February 16, 2016. It reached at number one on the Country Airplay in June 2016, but received poor critical reviews criticizing its lyrical content. The album's fourth single, "Vacation" released to country radio on June 13, 2016. The album's fifth single with Deluxe Version, "Star of the Show" released to country radio on October 3, 2016.
2017-present: Life Changes
On September 8, Rhett released his third studio album Life Changes. It includes the chart-topping singles "Craving You" featuring Maren Morris, "Unforgettable", and "Marry Me." The title track was released as the album's fourth single on April 16, 2018.
Personal life
Thomas Rhett is married to Lauren Akins, whom he has known since first grade. The couple married on October 12, 2012. As of February 2017, they announced that they were expecting a child (a girl) together in August and they adopted a baby girl from Uganda, Willa Gray Akins (b. November 1, 2015), on May 12, 2017. On August 12, 2017, they welcomed their second daughter, Ada James Akins. Rhett mentions his wife and daughters in his song "Life Changes."
Concert tours
- Own the Night Tour with Lady Antebellum (2012)
- Night Train Tour (Athens, Georgia) with Jason Aldean (2013)
- Anything Goes Tour with Florida Georgia Line (2015)
- Suits & Boots Tour co-headlining with Brett Eldredge (2015)
- We Were Here Tour with Jason Aldean (2016)
- C2C: Country to Country with Miranda Lambert, Dwight Yoakam and Ashley Monroe (2016)
- Six String Circus Tour with Jason Aldean (2016)
- Home Team Tour Headliner Tour With Guests Kelsea Ballerini, Russell Dickerson, Ryan Hurd, Brett Young, Old Dominion, Dan + Shay, and Walker Hayes (2017)
- Life Changes Tour (2018)
Discography
- It Goes Like This (2013)
- Tangled Up (2015)
- Life Changes (2017)
Awards and nominations
Television Appearances
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia