Lee Brice

This Sumter, S.C., native has a sound that successfully incorporates elements of traditional honky-tonk with a distinctly modern -- and sometimes rap-oriented -- twist. As a boy, Lee Brice was drawn to gospel music, as well as his father's record collection, which included plenty of Allman Brothers and Oak Ridge Boys. He gravitated to the piano at an early age and started writing his own songs at age 10. Also a gifted athlete, he enrolled at Clemson University on a football scholarship. When an injury to his arm affected his throwing abilities during his senior year, he turned to music. The singer moved to Nashville and was signed to a publishing deal with Curb Records, where he had success with songs picked up by Jason Aldean, Cowboy Crush and others. But when his hero, Garth Brooks, picked up "More Than a Memory" as a new song for his Ultimate Hits collection, the floodgates opened. Curb signed Brice as a recording artist, releasing Picture of Me in 2007. Three years later came Love Like Crazy.