Sam Hunt’s life story is worthy of a Hollywood movie. He started out as a serious contender for the NFL but ended up as a popular singer and songwriter. Not only is Hunt now a popular musician, but he is also regarded as one of the freshest and progressive voices in country music. This is due to his infusion of various styles such as R’n’B, Pop, and Hip Hop into his music. Hunt released his debut album in 2014 and it was both a critical and commercial success.
Hunt never dreamed of becoming a professional musician neither did he consider himself as someone with any musical talent. He played football in his high school and college years with the hope of joining the NFL. But as fate would have it, he abandoned his football dreams to pursue a music career.
Sam Hunt’s Early Interest In Football
Sam Lowry Hunt was born on the 8th of December, 1984 in a city in Georgia known as Cedartown. He hails from a family of five which includes his mother Joan, and Allen, his father. He also has two younger brothers named Van and Ben.
Hunt grew up in Cedartown and attended Cedartown High School. He excelled in football while in school and was chosen for the Georgia Sportswriters Association All-State Class AAA first-team. In addition to that, he got nominated for the Heisman high school trophy; a prestigious award that honors the country’s most esteemed high school athletes.
After high school, Hunt pursued his football dreams at Middle Tennessee State University where he played as a quarterback. He, however, did not get regular playing time and after two years, he transferred to the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Hunt finished from UAB in 2007 with a degree in Economics.
A Failed Attempted To Impress NFL Scouts Inspired His Music Career
Upon graduation, Sam Hunt briefly tried out for a place with the Kansas City Chiefs but did not make the team. It was at this point that he said goodbye to football. According to him, football had been a part of his life all along and he knew that making it to the NFL was a lifetime opportunity, so he decided to give it a shot even though music had captured a great deal of his interest.
But then, two months of an unsuccessful attempt to impress the City Chiefs made him resolve to focus his attention on becoming a musician; thus he moved to Nashville with a friend.
Sam Hunt’s Passion For Music Has Been Traced To His High School Days
With regard to music, it could be said that Sam Hunt stumbled into it. While in high school, he came across a guitar belonging to a friend and used it to teach himself how to play. Hunt had always loved country music but also fell in love with rap, R’n’B, and pop music, as they were always played in the locker room.
He started writing songs during his spare time and would often perform for his friends and roommates. It was his roommates that urged him to start performing publicly. When his NFL dreams fell apart, Sam Hunt picked up his guitar and moved to Nashville to pursue music.
In Nashville, he wrote songs for popular country singers such as Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, and Reba McEntire. He also released a mixtape, Between the Pines, in 2013. All these were enough to generate a much-needed buzz and in 2014, he landed a recording deal with MCA Nashville.
His Body of Work Proves He Was Meant For The Music Industry
Sam Hunt released his very first album, Montevallo, in October 2014. The album contained hits such as Leave the Night On, Take Your Time, House Party, Break up in a Small Town, and Make You Miss Me. The album was a monster hit; four singles from the album not only topped the country charts but were also certified platinum. The album was also nominated for the Best Country Album at the 2015 Grammys.
Debuting at the US Billboard 200 at No. 3, and at No.1 on the Top Country Albums, Montevallo won the American Country Countdown Awards for Digital Album of the Year. In April of 2015, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA and by February 2016, it had been certified double Platinum.
Following the success of his debut album, Sam Hunt released several singles and two extended plays. Singles like Body Like a Back Road, Downtown’s Dead, Kinfolks, and Hard to Forget sustained people’s interest in him and his relevance in the industry until April 2020 when he released his second album titled Southside. In all, Sam has dropped two studio albums, three EPs, one mixtape, nine singles, and ten music videos thus far.
Awards And Financial Rewards Of His Career
Sam Hunt has a net worth of $3 million. His sources of income include album sales (both digital and non-digital) as well as ticket sales from tours. Hunt has headlined two sold-out tours – The Lipstick Graffiti Tour (2015) and 15 in a 30 Tour (2017). He has also served as the opening act for other musicians such as popular country music group, Lady Antebellum.
Hunt has received many awards in the course of his career. They include New Artiste of the Year at the 2015 American Music Awards as well as the Breakthrough Male Artiste of the Year at the 2016 American Country Countdown Awards.
That’s not all, he has bagged the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Country Song, the Taste of Country Music Awards for New Artist of the Year, Music Biz Awards for Breakthrough Artist, CMT Music Awards for Breakthrough Video of the Year, ASCAP Country Music Awards for Songwriter-artist of the Year, and many more nominations.
Sam Hunt Is Married To Hannah Lee Fowler
The country star is happily married to his long-time girlfriend, Hannah Lee Fowler. Hannah is a nurse as well as a native of Alabama. Even though the couple is very private, their love story is well-known in the music industry. This is because their relationship has inspired many of Hunt’s songs. In fact, his very first album is named after Hannah’s hometown of Montevallo.
It must, however, be noted that their relationship has not been a bed of roses. They started dating in 2008 and broke up on a couple of occasions only to get back again. The couple finally got engaged in 2016 while vacationing in Israel.
Hunt and his wife tied the knot on the 15th of April 2017. The private wedding ceremony, which featured about 150 guests, was held in Hunt’s hometown of Cedartown. For their honeymoon, the couple vacationed in Hawaii.
Fowler Has a Massive Influence on Hunt’s Music
Sam Hunt’s music is known and admired for his lyrics which are respectful towards women. The musician has revealed that he was raised to respect women and that the women in his life demand that from him, especially his wife.
Hunt admits that Fowler has influenced his career a great deal. Based on what he has shared, he always asks for her opinion on his lyrics and her perspective has made it possible for him to connect with the female audience.
Adding that he gains insight into females from being close to Fowler, Sam stressed that a good measure of his lyrics can be attributed to her as he pondered on why he didn’t credit her as a co-writer for most of his songs.