埃里克·丘奇

Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter and minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets. He has released seven studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's Sinners Like Me, produced three singles on the Billboard country charts including the top 20 hits "How 'Bout You", "Two Pink Lines", and "Guys Like Me".

His second album, 2009's Carolina, produced three more singles: "Smoke a Little Smoke" and his first top 10 hits, "Love Your Love the Most" and "Hell on the Heart". 2011's Chief, his first No. 1 album, gave him his first two No. 1 singles, "Drink in My Hand" and "Springsteen", and the hits "Homeboy", "Creepin'", and "Like Jesus Does". His third No. 1 single was "The Only Way I Know", which he, Jason Aldean, and Luke Bryan recorded for Aldean's album Night Train.

A fourth album, The Outsiders, was released in February 2014. It produced five new singles between 2013 and 2015 with the title track, "Give Me Back My Hometown", "Cold One", "Talladega" and "Like a Wrecking Ball". "Talladega" and "Give Me Back My Hometown" each reached number one on the Country Airplay chart. Church got his sixth No. 1 hit with Keith Urban in May 2015 with the single "Raise 'Em Up". His fifth studio album, Mr. Misunderstood, was released in November 2015 and went on to produce two number one singles with "Record Year" and "Round Here Buzz". In July 2018, Church released the first single and title track of his album Desperate Man, which was released in October of the same year. In 2021, Church released the triple album set Heart & Soul.

Early life

Church was born on May 3, 1977, in Granite Falls, North Carolina, to Ken and Rita Church. Church worked with his father at Clayton Marcus, a furniture upholstery company where his father was president. At 13, he bought a guitar and began writing songs of his own. By his senior year of high school, he had found a gig at a local bar, which occupied most of his time. He played many Jimmy Buffett cover songs and a few of his own original songs in some dive bars. Some of those places were so rough that he got into a few altercations from the stage. For a few years, the band played often in bars and restaurants throughout North Carolina. The band "Mountain Boys" consisted of his college roommate, brother, and a fellow guitarist.

Before moving to Nashville, Church graduated from South Caldwell High School and then Appalachian State University with a degree in marketing.