Country music stations are buzzing with new releases from both genre veterans and fresh talent, yet only a select few singers manage to achieve chart-topping success.
The music industry is fiercely competitive and demands resilience.
Michael Warren, a 41-year-old country singer and songwriter from Hoover, Alabama, gained significant attention when his songs topped various Spotify channels. His journey is notable as it marks his second attempt at breaking into the music scene.
"I feel like I got a second lease on life," Warren shared in a video interview with Fox News Digital.
During his college years, Warren received an extraordinary call from Grammy award-winning artist Toni Braxton, who wanted to record some of his songs. However, Warren's musical journey began much earlier, rooted in his formative years and later bolstered by a chance with Atlantic Songs, a former subsidiary of Atlantic Records.
"I started music at a very, very young age," Warren said. "I instantly gravitated toward writing."
He attributes his love for music to his father, a former band member at the University of Notre Dame. Warren recalls their basement being filled with around 800 records from legends like Willie Nelson, Earth, Wind & Fire, James Taylor, and Michael Jackson.
"Growing up in that household, we had so many different musical influences," Warren reflected.
In middle school, Warren and his friends would perform on the school playground, emulating Boyz II Men and singing for their classmates.
"We thought we were Boyz II Men," Warren laughed. "I fell in love with it."
He then joined the church choir, where his passion for music deepened.
During his two years in junior college, Warren focused intensely on his music.
As he became a local favorite, he transitioned from dorm performances to playing at major college bars at Mississippi State and Auburn. He also performed at fraternity and sorority parties.
Late at night, Warren would use his dad’s camcorder to record his own audio. His father often joined him for all-night sessions, handwriting information on burned CDs of Warren’s original songs. Warren would produce 300 to 400 CDs at a time and distribute them outside popular bars at the University of Alabama, giving them exclusively to women.
"To see my name within these playlists and show posters and shows with people that I looked up to," Warren said. "To see it actually come true; it’s like sometimes you just have to step back, because all the things that I’ve dreamed about, I’m actually living them right now. Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of everything, you have to take time to appreciate where you were, what you prayed to God for, and that he delivered it."
Now, Warren is preparing for his first set at CMA Fest on Friday. He will be performing for his growing fan base at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red in Nashville, as part of Spotify House.
"CMA Fest is incredible. This is what everybody wants to do," he said. "I remember going to Spotify House last year at Ole Red’s. I was in the crowd. Fast-forward a year later, a lot of hard work, and I’m at Spotify House, CMA Fest, main stage."
