Randy Houser
Age: 49
Shawn Randolph "Randy" Houser (born December 18, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Universal South Records in 2008, he charted the single "Anything Goes". It was a Top 20 hit on the Billboard country singles chart and the title track to his debut album of the same name, which also produced his first Top 5 hit, "Boots On". In 2012, he moved to Broken Bow Records imprint Stoney Creek. He reached Number One with "How Country Feels", the title track to his third album, and with "Runnin' Outta Moonlight" in 2013. The follow up singles from the same album were "Goodnight Kiss", which reached number one on the Mediabase Country Chart and number two on the Country Airplay chart, and "Like a Cowboy," which reached number 3 on the Country Airplay chart in March 2015 and received a 2015 Country Music Association Awards Song of the Year nomination.
Prior to his success as an artist, Houser lived as a songwriter, co-writing singles including "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" by Trace Adkins, "Back That Thing Up" by Justin Moore, and "My Cowboy" by country pop artist Jessie James.
Biography
Randy Houser was born in Lake, Mississippi. His father, a professional musician as well, performed at various local venues. Houser fronted his own band by age ten, and while attending East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi, he formed a band called 10 lb. Biscuit.
By 2002, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee to begin a songwriting career. One of his first hits as a songwriter was "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk", which he co-wrote with Jamey Johnson and Dallas Davidson. It was recorded by Trace Adkins for his 2005 album Songs About Me, and was a Top 5 single. After that success, Houser shifted his focus to performing, and started playing at local gigs in Nashville. He was briefly signed to MCA Nashville but did not release anything.
Personal life
Randy Houser married Jessa Lee Yantz on Sept 2, 2011, who gave birth to a son named West Yantz Houser on March 6, 2012. In 2014 Country Weekly confirmed that Randy filed for divorce and a restraining order from his wife after 2½ years of marriage. Randy Houser got engaged to his Australian girlfriend, Tatiana Starzynski April 30, 2015.
Music career
Anything Goes (2008-09)
Houser signed to Universal South Records in 2008. His first single, "Anything Goes", was released in May of that year. It was co-written by Brice Long and John Wiggins. Houser performed the song on Late Show with David Letterman in August after Letterman heard it on a satellite radio station. The song entered the Top 40 of the Billboard country chart that same month. His debut album, also titled Anything Goes, was released in November, at which point the title track was in the Top 20. "Boots On" was released as the album's second single in February 2009 and became his first Top Ten hit in July. Houser also co-wrote "Back That Thing Up", the debut single for Valory Music Group artist Justin Moore. It peaked at #38 on Hot Country Songs in December 2008.
Houser received two nominations for the 2009 CMA Awards, including New Artist of the Year and Music Video of the Year for "Boots On".
They Call Me Cadillac (2009-10)
Houser, along with Jamey Johnson and Jessie James co-wrote "My Cowboy", James's third single from her self-titled debut album. It was released in late October 2009, and was also released as a music video.
Also in October 2009, Houser released his third single. The song titled "Whistlin' Dixie" was the lead-off single to his second studio album, They Call Me Cadillac. It debuted at #59 on the Billboard country songs chart before the initial release date of November 2, 2009. It peaked at #31 in January 2010. Afterward came "I'm All About It", which peaked at #49 and was not included on the album. His fifth single, "A Man Like Me", he co-wrote with Danny Green and Jameson Clark.
How Country Feels (2011-15)
In 2011, he released the song "In God's Time", which peaked at 54 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and never appeared on an album. He left Show Dog-Universal in 2011 and signed with Broken Bow Records' Stoney Creek division.
On May 7, 2012, Houser released "How Country Feels", his first single on Stoney Creek. On February 2, 2013, the song became Houser's first Number One on the Country Airplay chart. His first Stoney Creek album, also titled How Country Feels, was released on January 22, 2013. The album's second single, "Runnin' Outta Moonlight", was released to radio on March 4. It reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in August 2013. The album's third single, "Goodnight Kiss", was released to country radio on September 23, 2013, which also reached number one on the Mediabase Country Chart and number two on the Country Airplay chart. "Like a Cowboy" was the final single released from the How Country Feels album. "Like a Cowboy" reached number 3 on the Country Airplay chart in March 2015 and received a 2015 Country Music Association Song of the Year nomination.
The album also features a duet with Kristy Lee Cook titled "Wherever Love Goes". For its single release, the song was re-recorded to make Cook the lead artist and Houser the featured artist, which was released in late 2013 as Cook's second single for Broken Bow.
Houser spent the majority of 2015 touring as direct support to Luke Bryan's Kick The Dust Up Tour.
Fired Up (2015-present)
In April 2015, Houser released a new single titled "We Went", which serves as the lead single to his upcoming fourth studio album. It reached at number one on the Country Airplay in March 2016. The album, Fired Up, was released on March 11, 2016. Houser began his supporting tour, dubbed the "We Went Tour," in November, with shows continuing through the end of the year. The album's second single, "Song Number 7" released to country radio on March 28, 2016.
Discography
Main article: Randy Houser discography- Anything Goes (2008)
- They Call Me Cadillac (2010)
- How Country Feels (2013)
- Fired Up (2016)
Awards and nominations
Year | Organization | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | Country Music Association | New Artist of the Year | Nominated |
Music Video of the Year - "Boots On" | Nominated | ||
2010 | Academy of Country Music | Video of the Year - "Boots On" | Nominated |
CMT Music Awards | USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year - "Boots On" | Nominated | |
2011 | Academy of Country Music | Top New Solo Vocalist | Nominated |
2013 | CMT Music Awards | Breakthrough Video of the Year - "How Country Feels" | Nominated |
2014 | Male Video of the Year - "Runnin' Outta Moonlight" | Nominated | |
2015 | Country Music Association | Song of the Year - "Like A Cowboy" | Nominated |