It's been an exciting year for country singer Sam Hunt, who's become well known for both his music and his good looks [1]. Since releasing his debut album, Montevallo, back in 2014, the 31-year-old star has won over fans with his charm and his unique sound, which recently earned him a best new artist Grammy nomination [2]. Meanwhile, he was in the spotlight several times throughout 2015, hitting the red carpet [3] as he made the award show circuit and sharing the stage with Taylor Swift [4] during her 1989 tour. As he continues to capture attention both in the country world and beyond, get to know more about Sam Hunt and check out more of the year's hottest country singers [5].
He's the oldest of 3 kids.
Sam grew up in Cedartown, GA, with his parents, Allen and Joan, an insurance agent and a teacher [6]. He has two younger brothers [7].
He didn't REALLY perform until his early 20s.
Asked when he first performed [8], Sam told iHeartRadio that it was technically when he was 8 years old, singing "When the Saints Go Marching In" at school. "I didn't do that again until I was 21," he said. "It was [at] a little bar called Innisfree in Birmingham, AL. I just got up and played, like, two songs on the acoustic guitar."
He has a cat named Dandelion.
She's a rescue cat [9].
He remembers being "very captivated" by Usher's song "Nice & Slow."
In a Reddit AMA, he told fans that he's most influenced by '90s music [10] — both '90s country and '90s R&B — and he added, "The first time I heard 'Nice & Slow' by Usher [11] is my first memory for being very captivated by that style of music."
He was a philosophy major in college.
(Psst, here's his college football photo. [12])
The ex who inspired his album is OK with her involvement in it.
Sam's been open about how an ex-girlfriend inspired much of his Montevallo album, and he said that she's "okay with her involvement" [13] in the record, adding, "The experience that inspired 'Break Up in a Small Town' are drawn more from the time I spent back home in high school."
His college roommates encouraged him to book shows at bars.
The singer told Rolling Stone that it "took him a while" to get over the fact that he didn't know anybody else who played football and played music. After sharing some songs with his roommates, though, they pressed him to play at bars [14].
He didn't go to his first concert until he was 20.
Sam was in college when he went to his first concert [15], Drivin’ N’ Cryin’.
He gave the NFL a shot before heading to Nashville.
After he graduated from college, Sam was invited to training camp with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was briefly a free agent for the team but decided he was more interested in music [16].
He started his career as a songwriter.
Before he released his first solo album, Sam cowrote hits for some of country's biggest names. Among his credits are Kenny Chesney's "Come Over," Keith Urban [17]'s "Cop Car," and "We Are Tonight" by Billy Currington.
He actually hates listening to his own music.
Sam told Entertainment Weekly that he'd "have to sabotage it" [18] if his music came on when he was around a bunch of people, saying, "I hate listening to myself in general."