Benjamin Evans Rector (born November 6, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer based in

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 ...

. He has released seven studio albums, including '' Brand New'' (2015), which peaked at No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and ''

Magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

'' (2018), which debuted at No. 1 on the ''Billboard''

Americana/Folk Albums Americana/Folk Albums (formerly Folk Albums) is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine which ranks the top selling "current releases by traditional folk artists, as well as appropriate titles by acoustic-based singer-songwriters" ...

chart.

Early life

Rector was born in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. He took piano lessons as a child, but he did not pursue music until he picked up guitar in high school, which later led him to begin songwriting. He graduated from Tulsa's Metro Christian Academy in 2005 and from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

in 2009 with a degree in business and marketing.

Music career

During his first year at the University of Arkansas, Rector released a self-titled EP that featured the song "Conversation", which went on to win the Grand Prize in the Pop category of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in 2006. He is the youngest person ever to win the award for the pop category. The EP grew popular in surrounding states, and Rector began touring frequently on weekends and during breaks in the school year. Rector released his first full-length album ''Twenty Tomorrow'' in 2007 and its follow-up ''Songs That Duke Wrote'' in 2008. In April 2009, he was given the Northwest Arkansas Music Award (NAMA) for best male singer-songwriter in Northwest Arkansas. Later that year, he moved to Nashville to pursue songwriting and to continue his career as an artist. Rector's third studio album, ''

Into the Morning ''Into the Morning'' is the third full-length studio album released by Ben Rector on his own label: Aptly Named Recordings. Into the Morning peaked at No. 11 on the ''Billboard'' Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music ...

'', was released on February 16, 2010, and reached No. 11 on ''

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 ...

''s

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

chart.Billboard: Ben Rector Is a Gimmick Free Pop 'Nobody'
''Billboard''. Posted: September 25, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2012.Ben Rector: Family Friendly
. Blog.lp33.tv. April 9, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2011. Following the release, he co-headlined the Three Amigos Tour with fellow Nashvillians Steve Moakler and

Andrew Ripp Andrew Ripp is an American singer and Grammy-nominated songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee. Andrew first broke into the national music scene as a songwriter; his contributions, such as Ryan Cabrera's album, '' You Stand Watching'', have char ...

. The rest of 2010 brought support slots with

Dave Barnes David Mckee Barnes (born June 20, 1978) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. He has released eight studio albums, including two Christmas albums. His most recent full-length album, ''Dreaming in Electric ...

and

Five for Fighting Vladimir John Ondrasik III (born January 7, 1965), also known by his stage name Five for Fighting, is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. He is best known for his piano-based soft rock ballads, such as the top 40 hits "Superman (It's Not ...

, The Beat Lives Forever co-headline tour with

Drew Holcomb Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors is an Americana band from Memphis and East Nashville in Tennessee, United States. The band was formed in 2005 by Drew Holcomb (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica). The other band members are Nathan Dugger (guitar, keys) ...

and The Neighbors, and the Feels Like Home tour in Germany, organized by Johannes Strate of the German band

Revolverheld Revolverheld (German for "gunslinger") is a German rock band from Hamburg, Germany. Originally formed under the name Manga in 2002, the band renamed in 2004 to "Tsunamikiller" and later decided upon the current name after the 2004 Indian Ocea ...

. In early 2011, Rector headlined a tour in the Midwest, supported fellow Nashville artist

Matt Wertz Matthew Stewart Wertz (born February 17, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter. Originally from Liberty, Missouri, as of 2014 he lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Life and career Born and raised a Christian in Liberty, Missouri, Wertz's intere ...

's Weights & Wings national release tour, and performed on the

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

Best Cruise Ever with artists including

Train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

The Script The Script are an Irish rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin, consisting of lead vocalist and keyboardist Danny O'Donoghue, lead guitarist Mark Sheehan, and drummer Glen Power. The band moved to London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint ...

Colbie Caillat Colbie Marie Caillat (; born May 28, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter. She rose to fame through social networking website Myspace. At that time, she was the number one unsigned artist of her genre. After signing with Universal Republic R ...

and Lifehouse.The Salt Lake Tribune: VH1 Best Cruise Ever, featuring Train, Lifehouse, Colbie Caillat, The Script, setting sail soon
''The Salt Lake Tribune'' Rector's fourth studio album ''

Something Like This ''Something Like This'' is the fourth full-length studio album released by Ben Rector. It peaked at No. 11 on the ''Billboard'' Top Independent Albums charts and No. 41 on the ''Billboard'' 200. In mid-2011, Rector co-produced Steve Moakler's ''Watching Time Run''. Following the release of ''Something Like This'' Rector headlined the Good Time Tour which spanned 25 cities with Andrew Belle and Graham Colton as support. Rector supported

Needtobreathe Needtobreathe (stylized as NEEDTOBREATHE) is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Seth Bolt (backing vocals, bass), Josh Lovelace (backing vocals, keys), Randall H ...

during their The Reckoning tour in early 2012, which continued until May 2013.NEEDTOBREATHE: The Reckoning Spring Tour 2012
. needtobreathe.net ''

The Walking in Between ''The Walking in Between'' is the fifth full-length studio album released by Ben Rector, an American singer/songwriter from Oklahoma and now based in Nashville, Tennessee. The album was released on August 20, 2013. It was partly produced by Jamie ...

'' was released on August 20, 2013. Produced by Rector, Jamie Kenney and Charlie Peacock, it was the first release on Rector's own Aptly Named Recordings label. The album debuted at No. 16 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. In 2014, Rector briefly took a break from songwriting to front the

Huey Lewis and the News Huey Lewis and the News are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singles across the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Adult Contempora ...

cover band Newy Lewis and the Hues. Rector toured with

and the Neighbors, and Colony House for the first leg of the "Tour De Compadres" tour in early 2015. He co-headlined

The Rock Boat The Rock Boat is an annual rock music-themed "floating music festival at sea" aboard a cruise ship. It takes place in different locations each cruise, with several dozen bands performing in each cruise.Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

and

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...

on their 2017

Soul2Soul Tour The Soul2Soul 2000 Tour was the first joint concert tour by American country singers, and husband and wife, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. The concert tour began in Atlanta in July 2000, and ended later that year in December in Orlando. The tour's s ...

. Rector released his sixth studio album, '' Brand New'', on August 28, 2015, via Aptly Named Recordings. The album debuted No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, marking his first Top 10 album. It also debuted at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Top Current Rock Albums chart, No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Album Core Genre Rock chart, No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Album Sales chart, No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Top Current Digital Album Sales chart, and No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Top Folk Albums chart. In January 2016, he was picked as

Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month Since 2013, ''Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month'' is a regular ''Today Show'' feature fronted by American radio broadcaster Elvis Duran in which he chooses an upcoming solo singer, and at times duos and groups, to spotlight them each month as "Arti ...

and was featured on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'' show where he live performed his single " Brand New", which initially received airplay on

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

's The Pulse in September 2015. "Brand New" was his first single to enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at No. 82. The song also reached No. 6 on the ''Billboard''

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

, No. 7 on

Hot Rock Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alternati ...

, and No. 10 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. On June 22, 2018, Rector released his seventh studio album, ''

'', his first with OK Kid Recordings, which was led by its first single, "Drive". The album debuted at No. 1 on ''Billboard''s Americana/Folk Albums chart, and peaked at No. 2 on the ''Billboard''

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...

chart and No. 44 on the ''Billboard'' 200. In September 2018, Rector embarked on his nationwide tour, Magic: The Tour, that continued into early 2019. In 2019, Rector was nominated for a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

for Best Performance for his appearance on ''Pickler and Ben'' in 2018. A live album, ''Magic: Live From the USA'', was recorded during Magic: The Tour in various locations and was released on June 21, 2019. In 2020, Rector will headline The Old Friends Acoustic Tour, performing acoustic versions of his songs, featuring opener Cody Fry. On December 26, 2021, Rector announced his eighth studio album, ''The Joy of Music'', would be released in March 2022. Three songs from the album were pre-released on January 7, 2022: "Living My Best Life", "Dream On", and "Supernatural". A trailer for the album revealed that a short film was created in conjunction with the record and would debut with its release. Another track from the album, "Steady Love", was released on February 10, 2022.

Television

Rector made his television debut performing "Beautiful" on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...

'' on October 14, 2013. On April 12, 2016, he performed " Brand New" live on '' Conan''. He made his ''

Live with Kelly and Ryan ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...

'' debut on July 12, 2016, and appeared live on the

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...

on NBC on November 24, 2016. He has also performed on ''

'', ''

Pickler & Ben ''Pickler & Ben'' is an American syndicated daytime talk show hosted by country singer Kellie Pickler and media personality Ben Aaron, focusing on lifestyle, beauty, celebrity and advertorial segments, along with the subjects of human interest st ...

'', the

2017 Stanley Cup Finals The 2017 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2016–17 season, and the culmination of the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion and defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh ...

(game 6), and '' Bachelor in Paradise''. His songs have appeared on television shows including ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

'', ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'', ''Ellen DeGeneres Show'', ''

World of Dance World of Dance is a Southern California-based dance, fashion, music, and entertainment brand founded by David Gonzalez, Myron Marten, and Michael McGinn in 2008. It is the world's largest dance entertainment enterprise, elevating artists and bra ...

'', ''Heartland'', ''Hawaii Five-O'', ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...

'' and ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

''. "Brand New" was featured in the trailers for ''Edge of Seventeen'' and ''Moana'', in a

Weight Watchers Weight Watchers or WW may refer to: * Weight Watchers (diet), a comprehensive weight loss program and diet * WW International WW International, Inc., formerly Weight Watchers International, Inc., is a global company headquartered in the U.S. tha ...

campaign starring

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

, and on ads for the Olympics and the World Series.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Music videos

Other appearances

Footnotes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rector, Ben 1986 births 21st-century American musicians Living people Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma Songwriters from Oklahoma Songwriters from Tennessee University of Arkansas alumni