After coming to prominence as the frontman of Grammy Award-winning roots rockers Hootie & the Blowfish in the mid-'90s, Darius Rucker has since embarked on a successful solo career. Following the band's 1998 hiatus, the singer, guitarist, and songwriter applied his versatile baritone to acclaimed R&B and country efforts like the platinum-selling Learn to Live (2008) and True Believers (2013), and 2023's Carolyn's Boy, which featured the massive hit "Beers and Sunshine."

Growing up in Charleston, South Carolina, Rucker was exposed to the sounds of Otis Redding, Al Green, and Gladys Knight at an early age. Those R&B icons helped influence Hootie & the Blowfish's recordings, all of which featured Rucker's soulful baritone at the forefront, but it wasn't until he went solo that Rucker truly paid homage to the sounds of his youth. He initially planned to launch his solo career with The Return of Mongo Slade, which was scheduled for a summer 2001 release by Atlantic Records, but contractual changes prevented the album's release. A few months later, Rucker jumped ship for Hidden Beach Recordings, which then acquired the master recordings of his debut from Atlantic.

After making a cameo in the Farrelly brothers' film Shallow Hal, Rucker introduced his mellow, R&B-influenced music with 2002's Back to Then (essentially The Return of Mongo Slade with a different title), which featured collaborations with Jill Scott and Snoop Dogg. Rucker then returned his focus to Hootie & the Blowfish, releasing two albums with the group during the early 2000s before revisiting his solo career. This time, he opted for a country approach, and the twangy Learn to Live found an appropriate home among country music fans, who sent both the album and its flagship single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," to the top of the Billboard country chart. "It Won't Be Like This for Long" and "Alright" also peaked at number one, pushing the album to platinum status within a year of its release. Rucker smartly stayed in the country mold for his follow-up LP, Charleston, SC 1966, which appeared in fall 2010; it also spawned two number one singles in "Come Back Song" and "This."

His third solo album in a country vein, True Believers, followed in early 2013, and it generated a massive hit in the form of "Wagon Wheel," a number one country single that crossed over to 15 on the pop charts on its way to triple-platinum certification. As he prepped a fourth country long-player, Rucker released the "Homegrown Honey" single in the fall of 2014, along with the seasonal album Home for the Holidays. Southern Style appeared in March 2015; it debuted at number one on Billboard's country chart but didn't generate a second big hit. "If I Told You," the lead single from his next album, appeared in July 2016, but it took Rucker another full year to finish the record. Preceded by the summer single "For the First Time," the album When Was the Last Time appeared in October 2017, entering the Country Album chart at two and the Hot 100 at eight.

Hootie & the Blowfish reunited for a 25th anniversary tour of Cracked Rear View in 2019. That same year brought a new album from the group called Imperfect Circle; it peaked at number 26 on the Hot 100. Rucker returned to his solo career in August 2020 by releasing "Beers and Sunshine," the first single from his sixth solo album. The song debuted at number 24 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, making it his highest debut to date, and was certified gold in Canada. More singles followed, including "Same Beer Different Problem" and the Chapel Hart-assisted "Ol' Church Hymn." All three tracks appeared on 2023's Carolyn's Boy, which was named in honor of Rucker's mother. It peaked at 27 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. ~ Andrew Leahey & MacKenzie Wilson

A spirited country music harmony group, Chapel Hart is steeped in tradition but has a smart, knowing modern sensibility -- a blend captured on their breakthrough single "You Can Have Him Jolene," a clever answer song to the Dolly Parton classic "Jolene." "You Can Have Him Jolene" helped the trio attract fans on the 17th season of America's Got Talent, which aired in the summer of 2022; they won the Golden Buzzer from all four of the show's judges, which propelled the group into the finals. Their success on the show earned Chapel Hart an invitation to perform on the Grand Ole Opry in September 2022.

Sisters Danica and Devynn Hart formed Chapel Hart with their cousin Trea Swindle in their hometown of Poplarville, Mississippi in 2014. At first, the trio busked in the streets of New Orleans. In 2016, Danica Hart and Swindle stepped away from Devynn to record the EP Made for Me, which they released under the name Hyperphlyy. They employed the same moniker for Out the Mud, a full-length album the pair recorded with Devynn in 2019.

By 2020, the trio renamed themselves Chapel Hart and came to the attention of producer Jeff Glixman, who signed them to a management contract. The single "Jesus & Alcohol" was the first fruit of this partnership and, thanks to Glixman's connections, it featured a cameo from Billy F. Gibbons on guitar. CMT named Chapel Hart as part of their "Next Women of Country" campaign in 2021, an endorsement that was followed by the trio's second single, "I Will Follow." Shortly afterward, Chapel Hart released "You Can Have Him Jolene" and it, along with its two predecessors, was featured on their 2021 album The Girls Are Back in Town, which was produced by Glixman.

After the group's plans to tour with the Indigo Girls fell through in 2022, Chapel Hart was recruited to appear on the 17th season of the televised talent competition America's Got Talent. The trio played "You Can Have Him Jolene" on their audition episode, impressing the four judges enough to award Chapel Hart the "Golden Buzzer," which gave them immediate entry into the finals. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine