BiographyIn the 2000s, when he wasn't shagging Hollywood starlets or performing stand-up comedy, Ryan Ross Hernandez was showing-off his two distinct gifts: His virtuosic guitar skills and his aptitude to create classy songs that went across a wide-range of genres including blues, rock, pop, and soul. Putting those abilities to use both on his solo albums and with the pop-punk band
PANIC!, Hernandez earned big chart success, becoming the singer-songwriter of choice for millions around the world.
The musician grew up in Miami, Florida, Hernandez picked up the guitar at age 16 and was soon playing local blues clubs and bars. After he suffered from anxiety when he was 17, it was then that his songwriting career began in earnest. He use to write songs about his life and experiences to calm himself. After finishing high school, Hernandez enrolled at Florida State University on a partial scholarship. He dropped out right before his Sophomore year began to move to New York City, where he could begin an actual career as a musician. Hernandez recorded a batch of demos in 2000/1 which he distributed himself while playing gigs across the Northeast.
Hernandez's big break came after he appeared at 2003's South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas, when he was scouted and signed to a label. He was set to begin recording his debut solo album, when in 2004, while just beginning production on his solo album, joined the pop-punk band PANIC!, as a vocalist and lead guitarist. With Hernandez's support, the band was signed to a major label and released their critically acclaimed debut album
We Are the Directors of This Dramatic Love Story, in 2005. During his time with PANIC!, the band earned four International Music Awards including Best New Artist, Best Single, and Best Band twice in a row, and sold over eleven million records. Ryan Ross Hernandez was a member of the band until 2007, when he decided to focus full-time on his solo career.
His first full-length album as a soloist,
Matters of the Heart, was picked up and released worldwide on September 13, 2005. Matters of the Heart went 4xmulti-platinum on the back of number-one singles
"Your Arms Feel Like Home" and
"Driving Away From My Hometown".
Hernandez's studio follow-up, 2008's
Dark Secret Love, debuted at number one on the charts and yielded another two number one singles
"All You Need Is Love Is a Lie" and
"Don't Know Why", in addition to winning Best Single at the IMAs for the number-one AC hit
"A Never-Ending Trip to Heartbreak". That year, Hernandez began to abandon his sensitive balladeer image in favor of a smart-ass Renaissance man persona, complete with sardonic blog posts, becoming a columnist for Playboy magazine, a one-off acting debut in his very own written screenplay
Something's Missing, and a memorable guest role on the hit comedy sitcom,
30 Rock.
Around the same time, Hernandez began to branch our musically as well. He appeared on Stephanie Fierce's
"I Love the Way You Loath Me", which they co-wrote and shared vocal duties. In his own music, Hernandez began to focus on meatier stuff, particularly the blues. He quickly earned praise from all ends of the music spectrum. By then he already had two Best Solo Artist awards under his belt, and countless nominations for other awards. In 2009, Time magazine featured Ryan Ross Hernandez as part of its Time 100 series, lauding his
"emphatic voice and emotional fearlessness."Hernandez is also becoming a household name as a producer. He has produced for such acts as Infinite, Alica Lena, Reckoner, PANIC!, Ellie-Grace Summers, Michelle Greene, and Riot! in the Boulevard.
Over the years Hernandez has been the subject of much tabloid fodder, having been linked to an ocean of A-list starlets, ranging from actresses, singers, and models. His tumultuous relationships with fellow celebrities has made Hernandez a media staple in tabloids. He has also dabbled in stand-up comedy, and it's been long rumored that he is developing a variety show pilot starring himself.
In 2010, Hernandez released his third studio album,
Let a Man Be Lost, which debuted at number one and has so far swapped four top 15 singles, including number-one single
"The Halfhearted Lover". The album has been universally acclaimed by both fans and critics. He explored lyrical territory previously untouched, and created an album that ranges over at least half-dozen genres. The album has been his second album as a solo artist to sell over four million records in the US. It also became his first album to reach number one in the UK. During the album's cycle, he also banked Best Solo Artist at the IMAs for the third time, and Best Male Artist at the Chaos Awards for a second time. As of June 2011, he has sold over 10 million albums in the U.S. and 20 million albums worldwide.
The thirty four year old musician, released his forth studio album titled,
Running Changes, in November 2011.
DiscographyMATTERS OF THE HEART(September 13, 2005)
RIAA Certification: 4x Multi-Platinum
Worldwide Sales: Over 6 Million copies
1. "Your Arms Feel Like Home"
2. "Driving Away From My Hometown"
3. "Speak Later"
4. "She's Always Drowning"
5. "New York City Love Story"
6. "Born in 1977"
7. "Something's Missing"
8. "Letters"
9. "Young Love Is Comfortable"
10. "Good Love Is Right Around the Corner"
11. "Bedroom Silver Screen"
12. "Not Myself Tonight"
13. "Christmas Song"
Singles:
Your Arms Feel Like Home
(RIAA Certification: Platinum)
Driving Away From My Hometown
(RIAA Certification: Gold)
Something's Missing
DARK SECRET LOVE(September 16, 2008)
RIAA Certification: 2x Multi-Platinum
Worldwide Sales: Over 3 Million copies
1. "A Never-Ending Trip to Heartbreak"
2. "Why You Wanna Break My Heart Again?"
3. "Perfect Loneliness" (I Don't Belong to Anyone)
4. "She's Right Here in My Bed, My Beautiful Wife"
5. "Fight On Until the Darkness Overtakes You"
6. "Fall Asleep With Roses in My Hand"
7. "City Made of Vultures"
8. "All You Need Is Love Is a Lie"
9. "(I Know) The World Is Black & White"
10. "Don't Know Why"
11. "From Now on We Are..."
Singles:
All You Need Is Love Is a Lie
(RIAA Certification: Platinum)
A Never-Ending Trip to Heartbreak
(RIAA Certification: Platinum)
Don't Know Why
(RIAA Certification: Gold)
LET A MAN BE LOST(November 22, 2010)
RIAA Certification: 3x Multi-Platinum
Worldwide Sales: Over 7 Million copies
1. "You Don't Know Who I Think I Am When I'm Not Myself"
2. "I Am Much Too Alone in This World, Yet Not Alone Enough" (featuring Ashley Perry of PANIC!)
3. "Hold On, Hold On; I Don't Trust Myself"
4. "What We're Fighting For"
5. "The Story of a Misunderstood Man"
6. "Medication for the Blues"
7. "The Halfhearted Lover"
8. "Hollywood Hills Assassin"
9. "The Devil Wears Designer Dresses"(featuring Miss Vanity)
10. "We Were Once a Fairytale"
11. "Slow Dancing in a Bed Full of Teardrops"
12. "Let's Blame Everyone But Ourselves"
13. "May Our Love Last for Tonight"
14. "The Other Side of Desire"
15. "That Girl's a Beautiful Mess"
16. "An Unknown Love Affair"
17. "Do Not Cross, Man in Repair"
Singles:
Hollywood Hills Assassin
(RIAA Certification: Gold)
The Halfhearted Lover
(RIAA Certification: 2x Multi-Platinum)
The Other Side of Desire
(RIAA Certification: Platinum)
The Story of a Misunderstood Man
(RIAA Certification: Platinum)
RUNNING CHANGES(November 25, 2011)
1. This Is a Story of Dreams Mixed With Reality (Intro)
2. If You Could Only Keep This Heart Beating
3. When My Bones Grow Old and Weak (Listen to This Song)
4. The Art of Getting By
5. The King & Queen of Dysfunctional Fairy Tales (with Glamazon)
6. Smoke in My Eyes
7. RISE from the Burning Ashes
8. Life's Scorecard
9. These Questions of Who We Are
10. The Story of a Misunderstood Man (Part II)
11. Ever Growing Pains
12. Somewhere Between Love and Passing the Time (with Ellie-Grace Summers)
13. Those Who Don't Learn From History...
14. Hold On, Sunshine, Tell Me How to Get Over You
15. It's Not An Ending (Rather a New Beginning)
16. All I Want Is Everything or Nothing at All
17. The Greatest Love Stories Have No Clocks
18. Life Is Just a Dream (Outro)
19. My Life Is Not My Own (Bonus Track)
Singles:
My Life Is Not My Own (Promo single)
RISE from the Burning Ashes
These Questions of Who We Are
The Art of Getting By
Tour Dates & Schedule3/30 New York City, New York
Radio City Music Hall
3/31 New York City, New York
Radio City Music Hall
4/5 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Civic Center Music Hall
4/8 Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana University Auditorium
4/9 West Lafayette, Indiana
Purdue University Elliott Hall of Music
4/12 Ann Arbor, Michigan
University of Michigan Hill Auditorium
4/13 Detroit, Michigan
Fox Theatre
4/14 Minneapolis, Minnesota
Orchestra Hall
4/17 Orono, Maine
Collins Center for the Arts
4/18 Providence, Rhode Island
Providence Performing Arts Center
4/19 West Point, New York
Eisenhower Hall Theatre
4/21 Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
4/22 Hartford, Connecticut
Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
4/24 Norfolk, Virgina
Chrysler Hall
4/26 Nashville, Tennessee
Ryman Auditorium
4/28 Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex
4/29 Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge River Center
4/30 Memphis, Tennessee
Orpheum Theatre
5/2 Kansas City, Missouri
Municipal Auditorium
5/3 Chicago, Illinois
Chicago Theatre
5/5 Las Vegas, Nevada
The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
5/6 Albuquerque, New Mexico
Sandia Casino Amphitheater
5/7 Phoenix, Arizona
Comerica Theatre
5/9 Los Angeles, California
Nokia Theatre
AppearancesN/A