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Josh Ross
Canadian singer-songwriter (born 1996) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Josh Ross (born May 27, 1996) is a Canadian country singer and songwriter. He is managed by The Core Entertainment and jointly signed to Universal Music Canada and Universal Music Group Nashville.[1][2] Ross has charted with the singles "First Taste of Gone", "On a Different Night", "Trouble", "Ain't Doin' Jack", "Single Again", "Leave Me Too", and "Drunk Right Now (Na Na Na)".[3] In March 2024, he released the extended play Complicated.[4] His debut album Later Tonight is set to release in September 2025.[5]
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Early life
Ross was born in Waterdown, Ontario, and later moved to nearby Burlington, Ontario for school.[6][7] He spent most of his youth playing sports such as hockey, football, soccer, and motocross.[8] He has extended family in Saskatoon, Los Angeles and Maine, and visited the United States often as a child.[9] Ross attended Western University on a football scholarship and was a defensive back He did not actually play for Western.[10] He had hoped to play in the Canadian Football League.[8] A series of injuries coupled with two surgeries derailed his football career in university,[9] and he elected to pursue a career in music as a result.[8] Before his solo career, he initially formed a band in 2016 with Will Finch, a fellow former Western football player, named "Silver Lining".[11] Ross listened to both country and rock music growing up, and cites Steve Earle as one of his biggest musical influences.[8][12]
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Career
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Early career
While working in construction management, Ross entered several music competitions including the Magna Hoedown in Aurora, Ontario, and the Boots and Hearts Emerging Artists Showcase.[8] He began making trips to Nashville, Tennessee in 2018, with the support of fellow Canadian country artist Aaron Goodvin, before making a permanent move there in 2019.[8] Ross released his first radio single "If You Were a Song" as an independent artist that year.[13] He released the five-song extended play Do What You Love in 2020.[8]
2022–2023: Universal Music Group, Grey Cup halftime show
In February 2022, Ross released the single "First Taste of Gone", which he co-wrote with Mason Thornley.[14] He then became one of the final eight finalists for SiriusXM's "Top of the Country" contest.[15] Ross subsequently signed a joint recording and management deal with The Core Entertainment and Universal Music Canada in April 2022.[1] With Universal taking over promotion of "First Taste of Gone", the song moved into the top five of the Canada Country chart,[3] and entered the Canadian Hot 100.[16] Ross released the song "On a Different Night" in July 2022,[17][18][19] which would become a radio single later that September.[20] He received a nomination for "Rising Star" at the 2022 Canadian Country Music Awards.[21] Ross performed at the halftime show for the 109th Grey Cup in Regina, Saskatchewan, alongside Tyler Hubbard and Jordan Davis.[22]
In January 2023, Ross released the single "Trouble".[23] He opened for Bailey Zimmerman at the end of his headlining tour in the United States in the same month.[24] In March 2023, Universal Music Group Nashville signed Ross in partnership with Universal Music Canada and The Core.[25][26] Ross subsequently released the song "Red Flags" later that month.[27][28] He joined Lee Brice's "Beer Drinking Opportunity Tour" with Tenille Arts in Canada in the spring of 2023, and signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music shortly thereafter.[29][30][31] He was named "Rising Star" at the 2023 Country Music Association of Ontario Awards.[32] In the summer of 2023, Ross was an opening act for Nickelback on their North American "Get Rollin' Tour" along with Brantley Gilbert.[33] In July 2023, he released the song "Ain't Doin' Jack".[34] That same month, he made his debut performance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.[35] At the 2023 Canadian Country Music Awards in September 2023, Ross was nominated in six total categories, and won the award for "Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year".[36][37] He released the song "Ain't the One" at the end of the month.[38]
2024–present: Complicated, The Trouble Tour, and the Single Again Tour
In 2024, Ross released the songs "Single Again" and "Truck Girl".[39] Ross also embarked on his debut headlining tour "The Trouble Tour" in Canada in early 2024, and he joined Bailey Zimmerman again for his headlining "Religiously: The Tour" in the United States, Great Britain, and Ireland.[40][39] He released his extended play Complicated on March 29, 2024.[41] He followed that up with the release of the promotional singles "New Me" in May 2024 and "Want This Beer", a duet with Julia Michaels, in July 2024.[42][43] From August to November 2024, Ross embarked on his debut American headlining tour, the "Single Again Tour".[44] He won five awards at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Awards, including "Entertainer of the Year" and "Single of the Year.[45] Ross also won the Jeff Walker Global Country Artist Award at the 58th Annual Country Music Association Awards.[46]
In February 2025, Ross released "Leave Me Too", the lead single off an upcoming project.[47] He tied with Tate McRae for the most nominations at the Juno Awards of 2025, and won the Juno Award for Country Album of the Year with Complicated.[48][49] In April 2025, Ross released the song "Hate How You Look".[50] In May 2025, Ross collaborated with hip hop artist Akon on the song "Drunk Right Now (Na Na Na)", a reimagined version of Akon's song "Right Now (Na Na Na)".[51] In July 2025, "Single Again" reached number one on the Mediabase Country chart, making Ross the third Canadian man ever, after Hank Snow and Paul Brandt, to land a number one country radio single in the United States.[52] Ross will release his debut album Later Tonight on September 19, 2025.[5]
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Controversy
In June 2025, Ross apologized on social media after a video of him calling United States "the best country in the world" while performing at the Tailgates 'N Tallboys Festival in Indiana trended online and led to a barrage of criticism from Canadian fans due to the ongoing trade war between the two nations. Weeks later, he performed at Heritage Canada's Canada Day concert in Ottawa.[53]
Tours
- The Trouble Tour (2024)
- Single Again Tour (2024)
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Music videos
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Awards and nominations
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Notes
- Do What You Love was later re-released on The Core Entertainment / Universal Music Canada.
- "Trouble" did not enter the Hot 100, but peaked at number 39 on the U.S. Digital Songs component chart.[64]
References
External links
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