Life and career

Hayes was born on September 9, 1991, at Larniurg Hospital in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, as the only child to Lynette and Leo Hayes. His parents both have Cajun (French) ancestry, along with English, Scots-Irish, and German. Hayes grew up singing songs in both English and French. He began his musical career at age two, when his grandmother gave him a toy accordion. At four, he began making appearances locally and on national television, including Maury, Rosie O'Donnell Show, and the Nickelodeon game show Figure It Out, where he performed "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)". American Songwriter writes that "Hayes received his first guitar from actor Robert Duvall at age six" At age seven, he was invited to perform for President Bill Clinton for a White House lawn party. At thirteen, he appeared on America's Most Talented Kids, a show hosted by Dave Coulier; he performed the hit Hank Williams song, "Hey Good Lookin'".

In 2008, he moved from Breaux Bridge to Nashville, Tennessee and signed with Universal Music Publishing Group as a songwriter. In 2010, co-wrote "Play" for the Rascal Flatts album Nothing Like This. In September, he was signed to Atlantic Records Nashville and began working on what would become his major-label debut.

Hayes appeared as the opening act of ten dates of country star Taylor Swift's Speak Now World Tour throughout the summer of 2011 and concluded his leg of the tour in St. Louis, Missouri. In April 2011, he had gone on his own radio tour where he debuted songs that would appear on his debut album. His debut headlining tour was the Most Wanted Tour; the first leg of the tour began on October 8, 2011 in Beaumont and ended on December 4, 2011 in San Bernardino.

Hayes and singer Victoria Justice contributed a duet to the soundtrack of 2011's Footloose remake, recording a cover of Mike Reno's and Ann Wilson's 1984 hit "Almost Paradise" from the original film. Hayes made a sneak appearance on the compilation album Now That's What I Call Music! 41 with his song "Somebody's Heartbreak". From January to February 2012, Hayes was the opening act on the Rascal Flatts "Thaw Out" tour.

"Where We Left Off" is an original song, written by Hayes, that can be heard on the soundtrack for the 2012 war film Act of Valor. During the 2012 O Music Awards, The Flaming Lips broke a Guinness World Record (previously held by Jay-Z) for most concerts played in multiple cities in a 24-hr. period. Hayes was the opening act for them at the Hattiesburg stop.

In May 2012, Martin Guitars named Hayes as C.F. Martin & Co.'s newest brand ambassador. American Songwriter quoted Hayes on the subject: "It is an absolute honor to be named an official Martin Ambassador and to be recognized by the Martin family."

On September 7, 2012, he was inducted at the Mahalia Jackson Theater in New Orleans, Louisiana into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame as its youngest member.

2011-present: Hunter Hayes and Storyline

The debut single was "Storm Warning", released to radio on May 16, 2011. His self-titled major-label debut album was released on October 11, 2011. He co-wrote every song, played every instrument, and along with Dann Huff, produced the album. "Wanted", the second single, was released to radio on March 5, 2012.

On July 24, 2012, he appeared on the CBS's The Talk, where he was then given an RIAA Gold Certification plaque for "Wanted". Just shy of two months since "Wanted" went gold, the song was certified Platinum by RIAA on August 23, 2012.

"Wanted" became his first No. 1 single, making him the youngest solo male act to top Hot Country Songs, breaking the record set in 1973 by Johnny Rodriguez. Twenty weeks after first appearing in the top spot and under a new chart format, "Wanted" returned to the top spot. "Somebody's Heartbreak", the album's third single, went to No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart.

Starting September 14, 2012, Hayes began appearing as the opening act on 90+ dates for Carrie Underwood's Blown Away Tour.

He was also nominated for three Grammys including Best New Artist at the 2013 Grammy Awards; he is the youngest male country artist to be nominated in all three categories for which he was nominated. The album's fourth single, "I Want Crazy", which is from the deluxe Encore edition, was released to country radio on April 7, 2013. It peaked at number two on the Country Airplay chart in August 2013. Following it was "Everybody's Got Somebody but Me", a re-recording of a song from the original press of the album. The re-recorded version features guest vocals from Jason Mraz.

Hunter was one of five country singers who won a CMT Artist of the Year award; this award is awarded every year to a group of country musicians who have had an outstanding year.

Hayes performed "Invisible," the lead single from his second album, at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. Storyline was released on May 6, 2014. In an effort to promote his album and to raise awareness to end child hunger, Hunter broke the Guinness World Record for the most concerts played in multiple cities in 24 hours, originally held by The Flaming Lips.

Discography

Main article: Hunter Hayes discography

• Hunter Hayes (2011)
• Storyline (2014)
• The 21 Project (2015)

Tours

Headlining

• Most Wanted Tour (2011)
• Let's Be Crazy Tour with Ashley Monroe (2013)
• We're Not Invisible Tour with Danielle Bradbery & Dan + Shay (2014)
• Tattoo (Your Name) Tour with Dan + Shay & The Railers (2014)
• 21 Tour with Ryan Lafferty and Kelsea Ballerini (2015)

Supporting

• Speak Now World Tour - Taylor Swift (2011)
• Blown Away Tour - Carrie Underwood (2012)
• Wheels Up Tour - Lady Antebellum (2015)

Filmography

• 1997: The Apostle as Child Accordionist
• 1998: Figure It Out as himself/guest
• 2000: My Dog Skip as Accordion Boy
• 2003: Charlie's War as Montgomery
• 2016: Bella and the Bulldogs as himself

Awards and nominations

Academy of Country Music Awards

The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The Academy's signature "hat" trophy was created in 1968. The awards were first televised in 1972 on ABC.

Year	Category	Nominee / work	Result
2012	Best New Artist	Hunter Hayes	Nominated
2013	New Male Vocalist of the Year		Nominated
	Single Record of the Year	"Wanted"	Nominated
	Song of the Year		Nominated
	Video of the Year		Nominated

American Country Awards

The American Country Awards is a country music awards show, entirely voted on by fans. Created by the Fox Network, the awards honor country music artists in music, video, and touring categories. Underwood has won twelve awards, out of fourteen nominations, more than any other artist.

Year	Category	Nominee / work	Result
2012	New Artist of the Year	Hunter Hayes	Nominated
	Single by a New Artist	"Wanted"	Won
	Music Video by a New Artist		Won
2013	Breakthrough Artist of the Year	Hunter Hayes	Nominated
	Single by a Breakthrough	"Somebody's Heartbreak"	Nominated

Grammy Awards

A Grammy Award (originally called Gramophone Award), or Grammy, is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and the presentation of those awards that have a more popular interest.

Year	Category	Nominee / work	Result
2013	Best New Artist	Hunter Hayes	Nominated
	Best Country Album	Hunter Hayes	Nominated
	Best Country Solo Performance	"Wanted"	Nominated
2014		"I Want Crazy"	Nominated
2015		"Invisible"	Nominated

Other awards

Year	Association	Category	Work / Nominee(s)	Result
2012	CMT Music Awards	USA Breakthrough Video of the Year	"Storm Warning"	Nominated
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Male Country Artist	Hunter Hayes	Won
		Choice Country Song	"Storm Warning"	Nominated
	BMI Awards	Award Winning Song (Top 50)		Won
	Country Music Association Awards	New Artist of the Year	Hunter Hayes	Won
	Billboard Touring Awards	Top Package	Speak Now, featuring Taylor Swift with Needtobreathe, Hunter Hayes, Danny Gokey, etc.	Nominated
2013	Billboard Music Awards	Top Country Artist	Hunter Hayes	Nominated
		Top Country Song	"Wanted"	Nominated
	CMT Music Awards	Video of the Year		Nominated
		Male Video of the Year		Nominated
		Nationwide Insurance On Your Side Award	Hunter Hayes	Won
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Male Country Artist		Won
		Choice Country Song	"I Want Crazy"	Nominated
	BMI Awards	Song of the Year	"Wanted"	Won
		Award Winning Song (Top 50)	"Storm Warning"	Won
	American Music Awards	Favorite Country Male Artist	Hunter Hayes	Nominated
2014	World Music Awards	World's Best Song	"I Want Crazy"	Nominated
		World's Best Video		Nominated
		World's Best Album	Hunter Hayes	Nominated
		World's Best Male Artist	Hunter Hayes	Nominated
		World's Best Live Act		Nominated
		World's Best Entertainer		Nominated
	CMT Music Awards	Video of the Year	"I Want Crazy"	Nominated
		Male Video of the Year		Nominated
		Collaborative Video of the Year	"Everybody's Got Somebody but Me"	Nominated
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Male Country Artist	Hunter Hayes	Won
	BMI Awards	Top 50 Songs	I Want Crazy	Won
	Music Choice Awards	Social Media Superstar	Hunter Hayes	Won
2015	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Male Country Artist		Won
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Country Artist	Hunter Hayes	Nominated
		Choice Country Song	"21"	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]