Ernest Keith Smith, (born January 11, 1992) known mononymously as just Ernest (stylized as ERNEST), is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released three studio albums: Locals Only (2019), Flower Shops (The Album) (2022), and Nashville, Tennessee (2024). He has also written songs recorded by Morgan Wallen, Jake Owen, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Chris Lane, and Jelly Roll. His songs are produced by Joey Moi.[2]
Ernest | |
|---|---|
 Ernest performing in March 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ernest Keith Smith[1] |
| Born | January 11, 1992 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Country[1] |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Labels | Big Loud |
| Website | ernestofficial |
Biography
editErnest was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee and attended Lipscomb Academy there. He took an interest in hip hop music at an early age, citing the Space Jam soundtrack that he listened to in sixth grade as well as Eminem, John Mayer, and George Strait as his main influences.[2] At age 19, he suffered a heart attack brought on by a viral infection.[3] He developed a drug addiction while in college playing baseball in the National Junior College Athletic Association. After recovering, he moved back to Nashville and began writing and recording songs, in the bro-country style with Matt Royer, the brother of his now wife, who owned a recording studio. This association led to him co-writing the title track of Florida Georgia Line's 2016 album Dig Your Roots. The following year, recording under the mononym Ernest, he released country rap singles: "Dopeman" and "Bad Boy".[1]
After writing songs for Chris Lane and Jake Owen, in September 2019, Ernest signed a recording contract and management agreement with Big Loud, the label to which both Owen and Lane are signed.[4]
In April 2020, Ernest launched a podcast, Just Being Ernest, in which he talks to other musicians about the music industry. He recorded 50 episodes, mostly during the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
Ernest had further success as a songwriter in 2020 with Lane's "Big, Big Plans", Morgan Wallen's "More Than My Hometown", and Sam Hunt's "Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90s". He also released his first single for Big Loud, titled "Cheers".[6]
Ernest was a co-writer on labelmate Dallas Smith's single "Hide from a Broken Heart", released in November 2021.[7]
He released "Flower Shops", a duet with Wallen, in December 2021.[8]
In April 2024, he performed at Stagecoach Festival, also appearing in songs with Morgan Wallen and Willie Nelson.[2]
Personal life
editErnest is married to Delaney Royer and they have a son, Ryman, named after Ryman Auditorium. In 2022, they bought a farm with a greenhouse and chicken coop on 5 acres near Nashville.[9][2] He frequently posts to TikTok and his wife handles his digital content.[2] He is interested in fashion and has been friends with Mookie Betts since he was 8 years old; they often competed playing baseball.[2] He attended Freed–Hardeman University but later dropped out because he wanted to do music.
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US [10] |
US Country [11] | ||
| Locals Only[12] |
|
— | — |
| Flower Shops (The Album) |
|
150 | 12 |
| Nashville, Tennessee |
|
170 | 34 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||
Reissues
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Flower Shops (The Album): Two Dozen Roses |
|
Singles
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [14] |
US Country [15] |
US Country Airplay [16] |
CAN [17] |
CAN Country [18] |
WW [19] | ||||
| 2017 | "Doperman" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Bad Boy" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2019 | "I Think I Love You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Locals Only | |
| 2020 | "Cheers" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| 2021 | "American Rust" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022 | "Flower Shops" (featuring Morgan Wallen) |
64 | 13 | 18 | 62 | 16 | 192 | Flower Shops (The Album) | |
| 2024 | "Cowgirls" (Morgan Wallen featuring Ernest) |
12 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 47 |
|
One Thing at a Time |
| "Would If I Could" | — | — | 60 | — | — | — | Nashville, Tennessee | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Other charted songs
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [21] |
US Country [15] |
NZ Hot [22] | |||
| 2024 | "Hangin' On" (with Morgan Wallen) |
— | 37 | 38 | Nashville, Tennessee |
| "Devil I've Been" (Post Malone featuring Ernest) |
66 | — | — | F-1 Trillion | |
References
edit- ^ a b c Deming, Mark. "Ernest K. Smith biography". AllMusic.
- ^ a b c d e f Wood, Mikael (May 13, 2024). "From hitmaker to historian: Why Ernest is reviving the sound of classic country music". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Crawford, Jan; Novak, Analisa (April 12, 2024). "ERNEST on new album and overcoming a heart attack at 19 to follow his country music dreams". CBS News.
- ^ Nicholson, Jessica (September 26, 2019). "Big Loud Records Signs Ernest". MusicRow.
- ^ "Just Being ERNEST on Apple Podcast". Apple Podcast. October 10, 2023.
- ^ ZELLNER, XANDER (December 11, 2020). "ERNEST on Writing Hits With Morgan Wallen, Chris Lane & Dropping His Solo Single 'Cheers'". Billboard.
- ^ Brown, Ayla (March 2, 2023). "Meet ERNEST, The Writer Behind The Morgan Wallen Songs You Love". WKLB-FM.
- ^ Liptak, Carena (January 3, 2022). "Hear Morgan Wallen + Ernest's Lovelorn Duet, 'Flower Shops'". Townsquare Media.
- ^ BOWLBY, KATIE (February 10, 2023). "ERNEST and Delaney Royer on Their Nashville Farm, Life on the Road, and 'Flower Shops'". Country Living.
- ^ Peaks on the Billboard 200:
- Flower Shops: The Album: @billboardcharts (March 21, 2022). "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200 (2/2)..." (Tweet). Retrieved March 22, 2022 – via Twitter.
- Nashville, Tennessee: @billboardcharts (April 22, 2024). "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200:..." (Tweet). Retrieved April 22, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Peaks on the Top Country Albums:
- "Billboard Country Update" (PDF). Billboard. March 28, 2022. p. 14. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
- "Top Country Albums weeks on April 27 2024". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^ "Ernest". Universal Music Group. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
- ^ Vaughn, Grace Lenehan (February 26, 2022). "Ernest Announces 'Flower Shops (The Album)' + Releases Three New Songs". Taste of Country. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen – Chart history (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
- ^ a b "Morgan Wallen – Chart history (Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
- ^ Peaks on the Country Airplay chart:
- "Flower Shops" and "Cowgirls": "Morgan Wallen – Chart history (Country Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- "Would If I Could": "Billboard Country Update" (PDF). Billboard. November 1, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen – Chart history (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen – Chart history (Canada Country)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ "Morgan Wallen – Chart history (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
- ^ a b "American certifications – Ernest". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
- ^ Zellner, Xander (August 26, 2024). "Post Malone Charts 18 Songs From F-1 Trillion on Hot 100, Including Every Collaboration". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
- ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. April 22, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2024.