Todd O'Neill (born 1982) 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. In 2017, he charted at number 37 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 ...

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

with "Love Again".

Biography

Todd O'Neill was born in 1982 in

Hammond, Louisiana Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States, located east of Baton Rouge and northwest of New Orleans. Its population was 20,019 in the 2010 U.S. census, and 21,359 at the 2020 population estimates program. Ham ...

. He grew up listening to country music and

Cajun music Cajun music (french: Musique cadienne), an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem w ...

, and first performed in a band called Big Cat Daddy as a teenager. In 2009, he released his first album, ''Real Life'', on the Aria label. After releasing more independent material, he entered the Nash Next 2016 Challenge, a talent show in which

Jay DeMarcus Jay DeMarcus (born Stanley Wayne DeMarcus Jr.; on April 26, 1971) is an American bassist, vocalist, pianist, record producer and songwriter. From 1999 to 2021, he was a member of the country pop group Rascal Flatts. Early life DeMarcus was born ...

(of

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...

) and

Kix Brooks Leon Eric Brooks III, better known by his stage name Kix Brooks (born May 12, 1955), is an American country music artist, actor, and film producer best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn and host of radio's ''American Country Co ...

(of

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were solo ...

) were judges. After winning the competition, he was signed to

Big Machine Records Big Machine Records is an American independent record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Specializing in country and pop artists, Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by fo ...

' Nash imprint and released his debut single "Love Again". Brett Young, also a Big Machine Records artist, co-wrote the song and originally intended to record it himself until O'Neill met Young at a concert and asked permission to record it. Released to country radio in 2017, "Love Again" peaked at number 37 on the ''

chart. O'Neill also toured with

Brothers Osborne Brothers Osborne is an American country music duo consisting of brothers T.J. Osborne (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and John Osborne (lead guitar, background vocals). Born in Deale, Maryland, the duo signed a recording contract with EMI Records ...

and

Runaway June Runaway June is an American country music group consisting of Stevie Woodward (lead vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica, autoharp), Jennifer Wayne (guitar, vocals), and Natalie Stovall (guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, vocals). Wayne co-founded the g ...

to promote the single. Despite this song's chart success, O'Neill was dropped when Big Machine closed the Nash imprint.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Todd 1982 births American country singer-songwriters American male singers Big Machine Records artists Country musicians from Louisiana Living people People from Hammond, Louisiana