Brantley Gilbert
Brantley Keith Gilbert (born January 20, 1985) is an American country rock singer, songwriter and record producer from Jefferson, Georgia. He was originally signed to Colt Ford's label, Average Joes Entertainment, where he released Modern Day Prodigal Son and Halfway to Heaven. He is now signed to the Valory division of Big Machine Records where he has released five studio albums—a deluxe edition of Halfway to Heaven, Just as I Am, The Devil Don't Sleep, Fire & Brimstone, So Help Me God, and 14 country chart entries, four of which have gone to number one. He also co-wrote (with Colt Ford) and originally recorded Jason Aldean's singles "My Kinda Party" and "Dirt Road Anthem."
Brantley Gilbert
Brantley Keith Gilbert[1]
January 20, 1985[2]
Jefferson, Georgia, U.S.[2]
- Singer
- songwriter
- record producer
- Vocals
- guitar
2005–present
Career[edit]
2007-2013: A Modern Day Prodigal Son and Halfway to Heaven[edit]
Brantley Gilbert went to Nashville as a songwriter, where he signed to Warner Chappell Publishing.[3] He continued performing at local venues. In 2009, he released his debut album, A Modern Day Prodigal Son, under independent label Average Joes Entertainment. He followed with Halfway to Heaven in 2010.[4]
In 2011, he signed with Valory Music Co., a division of Big Machine Records, who released a deluxe edition of Halfway to Heaven. The album was produced by Dann Huff. Its first two singles, "Country Must Be Country Wide" and "You Don't Know Her Like I Do", both went to number one on the Hot Country Songs chart. After them, "Kick It in the Sticks" peaked at number 34, and "More Than Miles" at number 7 on Country Airplay. He won the ACM New Male Artist award in 2013.[5]
2014-2017: Just as I Am and The Devil Don't Sleep[edit]
Gilbert's second Valory album (third overall), Just as I Am, was released in May 2014. Its lead single, "Bottoms Up," also reached number one. The second single, "Small Town Throwdown," featured guest vocals from labelmates Thomas Rhett and Justin Moore. The third single, "One Hell of an Amen," became Brantley's fourth number one hit in 2015. The album's fourth single was "Stone Cold Sober," released with the album's platinum edition.
Ahead of his fourth album, The Devil Don't Sleep, Gilbert released the single "The Weekend" as the album's leadoff single. Also included on the album is "The Ones That Like Me."[6][7]
A deluxe edition of The Devil Don't Sleep includes ten bonus tracks: five demos, and five tracks cut from a live performance at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre.[8]
2018-present: Fire & Brimstone and So Help Me God[edit]
In December 2018, Gilbert released a duet with Lindsay Ell, "What Happens in a Small Town", as the leadoff single to his upcoming fifth studio album, Fire & Brimstone.[9] The album was released in October 2019.[10] "Fire’t Up" was released as the second single off the album.[11]
In June 2020, Gilbert released the single "Hard Days."[12][13] The song was later included on a deluxe edition of Fire & Brimstone.[14]
In June 2021, Gilbert released the single "The Worst Country Song of All Time", featuring Hardy and Toby Keith,[15] and followed it up with the promotional single "Gone But Not Forgotten" in September 2021.[16] In March 2022, Gilbert and Jason Aldean released another promotional single "Rolex® on a Redneck".[17]
Gilbert released his sixth studio album So Help Me God on November 10, 2022 and announced "Heaven by Then", featuring Blake Shelton and Vince Gill, as the album's second official single.[18] He opened for Five Finger Death Punch on their late 2022 headlining tour along with Cory Marks in the United States.[19] Gilbert joined Nickelback's "Get Rollin' Tour" in summer 2023 in North America as an opening act alongside fellow country artist Josh Ross.[20]
Songwriting[edit]
In addition to his original work, Gilbert has written songs that Colt Ford and Jason Aldean have recorded. The songs "Dirt Road Anthem" (co-written and originally recorded by him and Colt Ford) and "My Kinda Party" were released on Aldean's 2010 album My Kinda Party. "My Kinda Party" was originally recorded by Gilbert on Modern Day Prodigal Son, while "Dirt Road Anthem" was on Halfway to Heaven. Aldean has also covered Gilbert's "The Best of Me", available on the iTunes release of his 2009 album Wide Open.[21] Gilbert has also co-written the tracks "The Same Way" on Aldean's album 9[22] and "Small Town Small" on his album Macon, Georgia.[23]
Personal life[edit]
It was announced in September 2012 that Brantley Gilbert was dating country music singer and actress Jana Kramer. They met at the CMT Music Awards in June 2012. They were engaged on January 20, 2013, his 28th birthday.[24] They split in August 2013.[25][26][27]
In 2013, Gilbert embarked on an eight-day USO tour to entertain American service members stationed in Italy and Kuwait.[28]
Brantley Gilbert was in a near-fatal truck accident when he was 19.[29] Gilbert is an active Christian, and his song "My Faith In You", from his album Just as I Am, speaks of his faith. In May 2015, Gilbert got a tattoo showing his support of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.[30]
Gilbert headlined the NRA's Country Concert in February 2023.[31]
In April 2023, Gilbert smashed a can of Bud Light on stage after saying "Yeah, fuck that". Bud Light had recently become the focus of a boycott from conservatives because of a sponsored Instagram post by transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney."[32]