Brad Paisley

One of the most popular country singers of his generation, Brad Paisley was born in Glen Dale, Virginia on October 28, 1972. Given his first guitar at the age of eight, he started performing in churches and was writing his own country songs from the age of 12, fronting the band the C-Notes. He achieved a local following in West Virginia with regular appearances on the Jamboree USA radio show and went on tour supporting The Judds, Roy Clark and Little Jimmy Dickens. After moving to Nashville, Paisley released his first album Who Needs Pictures in 1999, which included the chart-topping singles "He Didn't Have to Be" and "We Danced". His second album Part II issued in 2001 was equally successful, and included the hits "Two People Fell iIn Love", "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)" and "Wrapped Around". In 2005 he had another major triumph with his Time Well Wasted album and remained in the public eye with a Christmas record and the guitar collection '5th Gear' in 2007, from which came one of his most famous tracks, "Ticks". Paisley's sharp guitar and relaxed vocals came to the fore again on his dreamy American Saturday Night album in 2009, with the lead single "Then" becoming his 14th number one. In 2010 he was awarded the coveted Entertainer of the Year award from the Country Music Association while hosting the show. He released the This Is Country Music album alongside the singles "Old Alabama" and "Remind Me", collaborations with Alabama and Carrie Underworld respectively. More hits followed with "Southern Comfort Zone", "Beat This Summer", "I Can't Change the World" and "The Mona Lisa" taken from the Wheelhouse album, along with "Accidental Racist" featuring LL Cool J. "River Bank", "Perfect Storm", "Crushin' It" and "Country Nation" all came from Moonshine in the Trunk in 2014 and gave Paisley a bigger following across the pond as the UK began to take notice. A duet with Demi Lovato on "Without a Fight" followed in 2016, before the release of the album Love and War (2017), including collaborations with icon artists like John Fogerty, Timbaland, and Mick Jagger. After a season as a guest judge on American Idol, Brad Paisley resurfaced in 2023 on the EMI Nashville label for the release of the four first songs from his next album Sons of the Mountains (2024), comprising a surprise guest named Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, during a phone conversation.