Thomas Bradley Cotter (born September 29, 1970) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer who won the 2004 season of ''

Nashville Star ''Nashville Star'' is an American reality television singing competition program that aired for six seasons, from 2003 to 2008. Its first five seasons aired on USA Network, while the last season aired on NBC. Its five seasons on USA made it the l ...

'' a talent competition on the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

. Signed to

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

that year, he released his debut album ''

Patient Man ''Patient Man'' is the debut studio album by American country music artist Brad Cotter, who in 2004 was declared the winner of the television talent show '' Nashville Star''.. It features the single "I Meant To", a Top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' ...

'', which produced three singles on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' country charts, including the No. 35 "I Meant To". An independent EP, ''Continuity'', followed in 2007.

Biography

Born in

Opelika, Alabama Opelika (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of Opelika is ...

, Cotter trained with Jerry Redd, who had performed with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

and the

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

group The Stamps Quartet. His first public performance was at the age of nine in a church in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

. He recorded five gospel records in the next eight years, and was voted the "top child Gospel soloist in America". He dropped out of performing in his late teen years, then returned to music in Auburn, where he joined the group Silverado. Cotter left Silverado in 1993 and moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, where he tried to get work as a solo act and a songwriter, landing cuts by

Tommy Shane Steiner Tommy Shane Steiner (born October 9, 1973) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 2001 with the single "What If She's an Angel", which reached a peak of No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. It wa ...

and

Chad Brock Chad Brock (born July 31, 1963) is an American country music singer and disc jockey. Before beginning his musical career in the late 1990s, he was a professional wrestler in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), until an injury forced him to retire ...

, in addition to recording demos. He later competed on and won ''

'', then signed to a recording contract with

. Cotter's debut album ''

'' was released in mid-2004 via Epic, with production by songwriter Steve Bogard. This album produced three chart singles on the country charts, including the Top 40 "I Meant To", but Cotter exited the label before Epic closed its Nashville division in 2005. In 2007, Cotter signed with Adobe Road Records in Nashville, releasing an EP called ''Continuity''. In 2009, Cotter and Bogard reunited, and Cotter signed to OMG Records. His second full album, ''Right on Time'', was released in June 2009.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

Brad Cotter official websiteBrad Cotter at CMT
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotter, Brad 1970 births American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Living people Nashville Star contestants Nashville Star winners People from Auburn, Alabama Epic Records artists People from Opelika, Alabama 21st-century American singers Country musicians from Alabama 21st-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from Alabama