COUNTRY STAR OF THE MONTH: MICHAEL RAY

There are so many reality shows based on singing and other talents that it’s hard to keep track of them all over the years. Some are still around, but some came and went so fast you don’t even remember them. One such show was called “The Next: Fame Is At Your Doorstep”. That’s a pretty forgettable one I would say. It did turn out a winner though and that was Michael Ray. It helped that John Rich of Big ‘n Rich was his mentor. He hails from Florida and grew up with his grandfather being his musical inspiration. he taught Michael how to play guitar and had him play at assisted living centers to hone his craft. It wasn’t long until Michael had a his own hit on the radio

His first song went all the way to number one on the charts which doesn’t happen too often. Singers that come off competition shows don’t always get the love they deserve because once the show is done they get forgotten about relatively quickly. While Ray hasn’t had huge albums with multiple hits he has consistently put out good songs that fans have liked. Since 2015 he has had a song that charted except 2021 which may have been due to the pandemic. He got back to number one with Whiskey and Rain in 2020. In 2022 he released a song called Holy Water that was very good and sounds a lot like what Country Radio is shifting to with current artists like Cody Johnson and Jackson Dean. For whatever reason the song that told the story about a preacher running moonshine didn’t catch on. Recently he released Spirits and Demons with Meghan Patrick that is set to climb up the charts soon.

Michael has a very clean sound to his voice and has southern twang to it. His song One That Got Away was his only real foray into a the pop-country sound that has dominated the charts for the last 10 years. On that same album he put out Her World Or Mine that has a more traditional sound to it and I think that’s where Michael belongs. He has a sound that when he stays to Country versus Pop he has a much more comfortable sound and he at times sounds like he could have been a singer from the 1980s. With the genre shifting back to it’s roots I’m hoping Michael can stick to what he sounds best at. Spirits and Demons is a great stepping stone to that path that could keep him at the forefront of Country Music.