Josh Ross (singer)

Ross grew up near Burlington, Ontario,[3] and spent most of his youth playing sports such as hockey, football, soccer, and motocross.[4] He has extended family in Los Angeles and Maine, and visited the United States often as a child.[5] Ross attended Western University on a football scholarship and was a defensive back.[6] He had hoped to play in the Canadian Football League.[4] A series of injuries coupled with two surgeries derailed his football career in university,[5] and he elected to pursue a career in music as a result.[4] Before his solo career, he initially formed a band in 2016 with Will Finch, a fellow former Western football player, named "Silver Lining".[7] Ross listened to both country and rock music growing up, and cites Steve Earle as one of his biggest musical influences.[4][8]

While working in construction management, Ross entered several music competitions including the Magna Hoedown in Aurora, Ontario, and the Boots and Hearts Emerging Artists Showcase.[4] He began making trips to Nashville, Tennessee in 2018, with the support of fellow Canadian country artist Aaron Goodvin, before making a permanent move there in 2019.[4] He released his first radio single "If You Were a Song" as an independent artist that year.[9] He released the five-song extended play Do What You Love in 2020.[4]

In February 2022, Ross released the single "First Taste of Gone", which he co-wrote with Mason Thornley.[10] He then became one of the final eight finalists for SiriusXM's "Top of the Country" contest.[11] Ross subsequently signed a joint recording and management deal with The Core Entertainment and Universal Music Canada in April of 2022.[1] With Universal taking over promotion of "First Taste of Gone", the song moved into the top five of the Canada Country chart,[12] and entered the Canadian Hot 100.[13]

Ross released the song "On a Different Night" in July 2022,[14][15][16] which would become a radio single later that September.[17] He received a nomination for "Rising Star" at the 2022 Canadian Country Music Awards.[18] Ross performed at the halftime show for the 109th Grey Cup in Regina, Saskatchewan, alongside Tyler Hubbard and Jordan Davis.[19] In January 2023, Ross released the song "Trouble".[20] He opened for Bailey Zimmerman at the end of his headlining tour in the United States in the same month.[21] In March 2023, Universal Music Group Nashville signed Ross in partnership with Universal Music Canada and The Core.[22][23] Ross subsequently released the song "Red Flags" later that month.[24][25] He joined Lee Brice's "Beer Drinking Opportunity Tour" with Tenille Arts in Canada in the spring of 2023.[26] In the summer of 2023, Ross is set to join Nickelback on their North America "Get Rollin' Tour" along with Brantley Gilbert.[27]