Mitchell Tenpenny (born August 17, 1989) is an American
country pop
Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...
singer and songwriter from
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
. He has released three studio albums and five
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. s through Riser House Records, with the first being ''
Telling All My Secrets'' released in December 2018. He charted in 2018 with the single "
Drunk Me", released on
Columbia Records Nashville. He also co wrote "
If the Boot Fits" with
Granger Smith
Granger Kelly Smith (born September 4, 1979), also known by his alter ego, Earl Dibbles Jr., is an American country music singer-songwriter and radio host. He has released eleven studio albums, one live album, and two EPs. He scored his first n ...
and the song made it to the top 10 on country airplay.
Early life
Tenpenny was born and raised in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
. His grandmother was
Donna Hilley
Donna Jean Hilley (née Whitten; June 30, 1940 – June 20, 2012) was an American music publishing executive who served as CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing from 1994 to her retirement in 2005. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Hilley began her ...
. According to Tenpenny, when he was 11, his grandmother introduced to him songwriters
Bobby Braddock
Robert Valentine Braddock (born August 5, 1940) is an American country songwriter and record producer. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Braddock has contributed numerous hit songs during mor ...
and
Curly Putman
Curly is a surname, given name, nickname or stage name. It may refer to:
First name, nickname or stage name
* Crazy Horse (1840–1877), Oglala Sioux war chief nicknamed "Curly"
* Curly (scout), nickname of Ashishishe (c. 1856–1923), Crow In ...
and he became interested in songwriting. He grew up listening to country, rock, and R&B, and cited
Vince Gill
Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...
,
John Mayer, and
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
among his musical influences.
He attended
Lipscomb Academy
Lipscomb Academy is a private, college preparatory, Christian school serving students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.
History
The Nashville Bible School was founded in 1891 by David ...
in Nashville where he played football. He then enrolled at
Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as well as a college of Postgr ...
where he originally intended to played college football, but became more interested being in a band. He graduated with a music business degree.
Music career
Tenpenny released his debut album, titled ''Black Crow'', in 2015. A track, "Canes Creek", featured the bluegrass band
The SteelDrivers
The SteelDrivers are a bluegrass band from Nashville, Tennessee. Members include fiddler Tammy Rogers, bassist Mike Fleming, guitarist/vocalist Matt Dame, mandolinist Brent Truitt, and banjoist Richard Bailey. Past members include Kelvin Damrel ...
.
His debut single was the title track of the album, "Black Crow".
In his early songwriting career, he wrote a number of songs with artists such as
Nick Fradiani; an early success is the Top 10 song he co-wrote "
If the Boot Fits", recorded by
Granger Smith
Granger Kelly Smith (born September 4, 1979), also known by his alter ego, Earl Dibbles Jr., is an American country music singer-songwriter and radio host. He has released eleven studio albums, one live album, and two EPs. He scored his first n ...
. He signed a publishing deal with Sony ATV Music Publishing Nashville,
and was involved in the documentary film ''The Voyage'' in 2014. He was signed to a newly formed Riser Records in 2016. On January 10, 2018, it was announced that Tenpenny was signed to a joint venture with Riser House/Sony Music Nashville to a record deal. He will be on the Columbia Records imprint.
In July 2017, Tenpenny released an EP, ''Linden Ave'', named after the street where his grandmother Donna Hilley used to live. The EP charted at No. 10 on Billboard's
Independent Albums chart, No. 6 in
Heatseekers Albums, and No. 12 in Country Album Sales, with 2,100 copies sold in its first week.
In January 2018, Tenpenny entered into a joint venture with Riser House/Columbia Nashville and released a self-titled EP on February 23, featuring a new single "
Drunk Me".
He released his second album and full-length major label debut album titled ''
Telling All My Secrets'' on December 14, 2018.
It debuted at No. 5 on ''Billboard''s Top Country Albums chart, and No. 53 on
''Billboard'' 200, after accruing 20,000 album equivalent units in its first week.
Personal life
Tenpenny has been in a long-term relationship with fellow country singer
Meghan Patrick
Meghan Patrick (born March 25, 1987) is a Canadian-American country singer-songwriter from Bowmanville, Ontario, signed to Warner Music Canada, and Riser House Entertainment. She released her debut album, ''Grace & Grit'', on April 29, 2016. P ...
. On November 24, 2021, the two got engaged in the bar where they first met.
Tenpenny and Meghan Patrick married on 23 October, 2022.
Discography
Albums
Extended plays
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Promotional singles
Music videos
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenpenny, Mitchell
Living people
American country singer-songwriters
Country musicians from Tennessee
Columbia Records artists
1989 births
Singer-songwriters from Tennessee
Middle Tennessee State University alumni