Frank Robert Ballard IV (born December 16, 1982) is an American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has released two albums each for

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

and

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of th ...

, and has charted eight singles on the Hot Country Songs charts.

Personal life

Ballard played college baseball at

Mott Community College Mott Community College (officially Charles Stewart Mott Community College or abbreviated MCC) is a public community college in Flint, Michigan. It is named for politician, businessman, and philanthropist Charles Stewart Mott. Its district is t ...

. He then continued to pursue college baseball by playing in the NCAA with

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the tr ...

. On March 12, 2017, Ballard married his girlfriend, Christina Murphy, owner of Old Smokeys Boots, a Nashville-based shoe and accessory store. On November 7, 2019, the couple announced they were expecting their first child. Their daughter, Pepper Lynn, was born on February 8, 2020.

Music career

In the summer of 2008 he signed up for

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs and Countr ...

's Next Big Star competition. After winning the competition for Michigan in 2008, Ballard also opened shows for Chesney at Michigan venues. He signed to

Nashville in 2010 and released his debut single "Tell Me You Get Lonely." It received a four-star review from Kyle Ward of Roughstock, who praised Ballard's voice and called the song "an above average debut effort." The song debuted at Number 59 on the Hot Country Songs charts dated for the week ending June 12, 2010, and peaked at number 33 in early 2011. On January 7, 2011, Ballard made his debut appearance at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a di ...

. He released his second single, " A Buncha Girls", in early 2011. This song also made the top 40. Both of his singles are included on his self-titled debut album, released in May 2011. Also in 2011, he opened for

Lady Antebellum Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar) ...

. In 2013, Ballard moved to

and released his third single, " Helluva Life". This is the lead single to his second album, '' Sunshine & Whiskey''. It became his first number 1 single in early 2014. Later in the year, the album's

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

went to number 1. " Young & Crazy", the album's third single, also went to number 1. The first single from Ballard's third album, " It All Started with a Beer", was released to country radio on November 16, 2015. The album, '' El Rio'', was released on June 10, 2016. The album's second single, "Cigarette", released to country radio on August 8, 2016. Ballard co-wrote "I Came to Git Down" on

Big & Rich Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a solo ...

's 2014 album ''

Gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...

''.

Concert tours

;Supporting * Own the Night Tour with

(2011) *

Anything Goes Tour The Anything Goes Tour was the second headlining concert tour from American country music duo the Florida Georgia Line, in support of their studio album ''Anything Goes''. It began on January 15, 2015, in Toledo, Ohio. Thomas Rhett and Frankie B ...

with

Florida Georgia Line Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single "Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was d ...

(2015) * Still the Same Concert Tour with Sugarland (2018)

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

*^A"It All Started with a Beer" did not enter the Hot 100, but peaked at number 2 on

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

Music videos

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, Frankie American country guitarists American male guitarists American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Country musicians from Michigan People from Battle Creek, Michigan Reprise Records artists Warner Records artists 1982 births Living people Western Michigan Broncos baseball players Singer-songwriters from Michigan Guitarists from Michigan 21st-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers