'The CountryLine Songwriter Series', is where you'll hear from some of the most successful artists and songwriters working in Nashville today. Country music is all about storytelling and this is where you'll discover the stories from the people themselves of how they managed to find their way into such a competitive industry and rise to the top. What motivates and inspires them and what they've learnt along the way.

Michael Ray is a native of Eustis, Florida, who was first introduced to music by his grandfather. Initially inspired by such classic country artists as Porter Wagoner, Merle Haggard, and Waylon Jennings, by his teens Ray was expanding his taste, listening to more modern artists like Garth Brooks, as well as the eclectic influence of modern radio sounds from rock to hip-hop. By the time Ray graduated high school in 2006, he had decided to pursue his passion for country music.

Forgoing a move to Nashville, Ray instead formed a band and began playing a constant grind of shows all around Southern Florida. He slowly built a loyal following, a fan base that widened considerably after a Lakeland DJ for WPCV-97 Country put his music into regular rotation. Soon Ray was headlining the Orlando House of Blues and selling out shows all over Florida. In 2010, his independently released debut caught the ear of veteran music industry manager Tony Conway, who began helping Ray take his career to a national audience. In 2012, he appeared on the CW talent competition The Next, where he was mentored by Big & Rich's John Rich. Ray was an audience favourite on the show and ultimately took home the top prize. After the show, he signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell, and in 2014 released the hit single "Kiss You in the Morning”.

His full-length self-titled major-label debut, followed in 2015 on Warner Music Nashville. Well-received, the set made it to number four on the Country Albums chart and spawned two more singles with "Real Men Love Jesus" and "Think a Little Less”. Over the next several years, Ray toured extensively before returning to the studio alongside producer Scott Hendricks (Blake Shelton, Brooks & Dunn, Trace Adkins). In 2018, he delivered his sophomore album, “Amos”, which included the Top 20 country single "Get to You”, “Amos”, debuted at five on Billboard's Country Albums charts upon its June release. Shortly afterward, "One That Got Away" became his second Country Airplay Top Ten hit, reaching number three. "Her World or Mine" closed out the album’s' chart run in 2019, reaching 22 on Country Airplay.

The non-LP single "Whiskey and Rain" followed in 2020. It would wind up anchoring “Higher Education”, the EP Ray released in August 2021. Two more EPs, “The Warehouse Sessions” and “The Bootlegger Sessions”, appeared in 2022, offering alternate versions of previously recorded songs. Ray returned with a new single, 2023's dark-toned "Get Her Back”, and its accompanying EP, “Dive Bars & Broken Hearts”, which also featured a duet with Meghan Patrick on "Spirits and Demons”.

CountryLine brings country music to the world through our radio stations, a TV show that reaches 90 million homes, countless interviews with massive stars and great live sessions. Download the CountryLine app to experience all this in one place:

· Live shows from the biggest names in country

· Interviews with our favourite artists

· News and gossip direct from music city itself

· Movies; TV shows

· Access to country music’s legends and the stars of tomorrow

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'The CountryLine Songwriter Series', is where you'll hear from some of the most successful artists and songwriters working in Nashville today. Country music is all about storytelling and this is where you'll discover the stories from the people themselves of how they managed to find their way into such a competitive industry and rise to the top. What motivates and inspires them and what they've learnt along the way.

Colbie Caillat's childhood was spent in Malibu and Ventura County with her father, Ken, who famously produced the landmark Fleetwood Mac albums Rumours and Tusk. She took piano lessons as a child but lacked significant inspiration until she turned 11 and became enthralled with Lauryn Hill's performance in Sister Act 2. Immediately realizing that she wanted to be a singer, she started taking vocal lessons and soon met Mikal Blue, a producer who had previously worked with Five for Fighting and Carrie Underwood.

As the collaboration thickened, Jason Reeves entered the picture and lent his artistic know-how to the songwriter's developing skills. She posted several of her finished songs on MySpace, although little response was generated until Caillat uploaded a breezy, hook-laden track named "Bubbly”. As word of mouth spread, Rolling Stone highlighted her as one of the top female artists on the networking site. For four months, Caillat was MySpace's number one unsigned artist, garnering over 14 million plays in the process. With such an appealing statistic on her résumé, record labels began courting her, and she signed to Universal Republic.

In July 2007, Caillat made her major-label debut with “Coco”, a summertime record suitable for both the coffeehouse and the beach. "Bubbly", topped the singles charts in several formats, transforming the singer from an Internet sensation to a mainstream presence. Caillat celebrated her star success by duetting with Jason Mraz, touring with John Mayer, and collaborating with Taylor Swift. Two years after “Coco's”, release, she returned with a second record, “Breakthrough”. The album went gold and was followed two years later by “All of You”, another summery collection of pop songs written with the likes of Ryan Tedder, Toby Gad, and "Bubbly" co-writer Jason Reeves.

Caillat began work on her next album in 2013, with the first fruit of her labour, "Hold On”, appearing in November 2013. An EP called “Gypsy Heart (Side A)”, showed up in June 2014 and, as that title suggests, it was the first half of a full-length album called “Gypsy Heart”, which was released in September 2014. Produced in part by Babyface, the album was a conscious shift to popular, radio-friendly material. The album debuted at 17 on Billboard's Top 200 and its biggest single, "Try," peaked at six on their adult contemporary chart.

Caillat parted ways with Republic Records after “Gypsy Heart”, and formed her own label, PlummyLou, with the intent of releasing “The Malibu Sessions”. Recorded prior to “Gypsy Heart”, but rejected by Republic, “The Malibu Sessions”, reconnected Caillat to her beachy sound, and saw release in October of 2016. Caillat started another label, Blue Jean Baby, for “Along the Way”, her 2023 album of contemporary country songs.

CountryLine brings country music to the world through our radio stations, a TV show that reaches 90 million homes, countless interviews with massive stars and great live sessions. Download the CountryLine app to experience all this in one place:

· Live shows from the biggest names in country

· Interviews with our favourite artists

· News and gossip direct from music city itself

· Movies; TV shows

· Access to country music’s legends and the stars of tomorrow

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'The CountryLine Songwriter Series', is where you'll hear from some of the most successful artists and songwriters working in Nashville today. Country music is all about storytelling and this is where you'll discover the stories from the people themselves of how they managed to find their way into such a competitive industry and rise to the top. What motivates and inspires them and what they've learnt along the way.

Scotty McCreery began singing as a child in Garner, North Carolina. School performances eventually gave way to local competitions, and McCreery won a singing contest in the nearby town of Clayton before trying out for American Idol as a 16-year-old. Auditioning with Josh Turner's "Your Man”, he made good use of his country twang and deep baritone vocals, prompting the judges to compare him to Randy Travis. McCreery passed the audition, became an audience favourite, and eventually won the competition in May 2011.

McCreery's coronation song was "I Love You This Big”, a country ballad that sold nearly 175,000 copies during its first week of release. The song also cracked the country charts at number 32, making it the highest-charting debut single in country music history, and helped stir up anticipation for his full-length album, which he recorded while preparing for American Idol’s summer tour. “Clear as Day”, appeared in the fall of 2011 from Mercury Nashville, debuting at number one on the Billboard Top 200 the week of its release. It went on to be one of the better-selling latter-day Idol-related records, earning a platinum certification and producing another hit single in "The Trouble with Girls”. The following year, McCreery released the seasonal “Christmas with Scotty McCreery”, in time for the 2012 holiday season.

In October 2013, he returned with his second official studio album, “See You Tonight”. Produced by Frank Rogers, the album moved McCreery into bright contemporary country-pop. It was a success, debuting at number one on Billboard's Country Albums chart and earning McCreery's the Breakthrough Artist Award at the 2013 American Country Awards. In 2015 he issued a new single, "Southern Belle”, and toured with Rascal Flatts.

In 2017, McCreery signed with Triple Tigers, a new imprint distributed by Sony Nashville. “Seasons Change”, his first album for his new label, arrived in 2018 and gave him three number one hits on Billboard's Country Airplay chart: "Five More Minutes”, "This Is It”, and "In Between”. In 2020, he released "You Time”, which went to number one on Billboard Country Airplay, setting up the 2021 release of its parent album “Same Truck”.

In 2022 Scotty McCreery performed at the C2C Festival and chatted with CountryLine’s Stuart Banford in Dublin.

CountryLine brings country music to the world through our radio stations, a TV show that reaches 90 million homes, countless interviews with massive stars and great live sessions. Download the CountryLine app to experience all this in one place:

·     Live shows from the biggest names in country

·     Interviews with our favourite artists

·     News and gossip direct from music city itself

·     Movies; TV shows

·     Access to country music’s legends and the stars of tomorrow

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.