Ricky Montgomery (born April 3, 1993)[1] is an American singer, musician and songwriter. In 2020, his songs went viral on TikTok, leading to being signed with Warner Records later that year.[2]
Ricky Montgomery | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1993-04-03) April 3, 1993 (age 29) Los Angeles, California |
| Origin | St. Louis |
| Genres | Indie-Pop, Alternative, Bedroom pop |
| Years active | 2014—present |
| Labels | Warner Records |
| Website | rickymontgomery |
Ricky Montgomery was born in Los Angeles. His mother was a teacher, and his father was a gaffer.[1] When Montgomery was young, his parents got a divorce,[3] and, in 2005, he and his mother moved to St. Louis, Missouri.[1] At the age of 14, he began to play in various bands.[2] In 2014, he gained a following on Vine, a short-form video service, posting comical original songs.[4] He found the site the day after the app had launched from a CNN news article. He saw the site as a potential "springboard for a possible music career."[3] After finding success with Vine, Montgomery released his first EP, Caught On The Moon.[1][4] Soon after, he dropped out of college and returned to Los Angeles to pursue a musical career.[2]
He has a sister.[3]
His pronouns are he/they.[5]
In LA, he released his first studio album Montgomery Ricky on April 1, 2016.[2][6] Montgomery founded indie band The Honeysticks with a childhood friend of his[7] to experiment musically.[when?][2][4][8] The band name was derived from a snack Montgomery ate every Saturday morning when he was a kid, made of sticks of honey.[3] In 2018, he took the year off from making music and started social media marketing companies to earn more money.[citation needed] By 2020, he considered quitting making music entirely.[2][4] However, in mid-2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, his two singles—"Mr Loverman" and "Line Without A Hook"—went viral on TikTok.[2] With his explosion in popularity, he was contacted by "virtually every single major label A&R in a matter of months."[4] In December 2020,[4] after a large bidding war, Montgomery signed with Warner Records.[9]
I think because we had a really traumatizing year, these songs kind of found a moment, because they're all, in their own way, about traumas in my life.
— Ricky Montgomery[7]
Since then, he has remixed two songs in 2021 from his debut album with fellow artists Chloe Moriondo and mxmtoon respectively.[4][7] Montgomery came in contact with mxmtoon after finding her perform one of his songs on the streaming platform Twitch, learning that she had been a fan of his Vine content before it shut down.[4] He found Moriondo from a song cover of "Out Like A Light".[10]
Montgomery released his second solo EP, It’s 2016 Somewhere, on April 15, 2022.[11][12] Upon announcement of the EP’s title, Montgomery hinted at more content being released in the near future.[12]
All tracks are written by Ricky Montgomery.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "This December" | 3:01 | |
| 2. | "Line Without a Hook" | 4:09 | |
| 3. | "Cabo" | Jon Heisserer | 2:27 |
| 4. | "Dont Know How" | 3:03 | |
| 5. | "Last Night" | 4:03 | |
| 6. | "California" | 3:30 | |
| 7. | "My Heart Is Buried In Venice" | 3:04 | |
| 8. | "Mr Loverman" | 3:36 | |
| 9. | "Get Used to It" | 3:55 | |
| 10. | "Snow" | Jon Heisserer | 4:36 |
| Total length: | 35:30 | ||
All tracks are written by Ricky Montgomery.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" | Ben Russin, Jon Heisserer, Ryan Fyffe | 0:19 |
| 2. | "Talk to You" | Ben Russin, Jon Heisserer, Ryan Fyffe | 3:34 |
| 3. | "Sorry for Me" | Dan Wilson, Mary Montgomery, Zane Graham | 3:17 |
| 4. | "Mom (Interlude)" | 0:45 | |
| 5. | "Settle Down" | 2:58 | |
| 6. | "Mr Loverman - Acoustic" | Jon Heisserer | 3:57 |
| 7. | "I Don't Love You Anymore - Acoustic" | Ben Russin, Caleb Hurst, Jon Heisserer, Ryan Fyffe | 3:19 |
| Total length: | 18:13 | ||