| Joel Crouse | |
| Birth Name: | Joel Thomas Crouse |
| Birth Date: | 1992 6, mf=yes |
| Birth Place: | Holland, Massachusetts |
| Occupation: | Singer-songwriter musician |
| Genre: | Country |
| Instrument: | Vocals/guitar/piano |
Joel Thomas Crouse (born June 14, 1992) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He released his most recent EP, wasteLAnd on his label, Hum Records in August 2020.[1]
Joel Crouse grew up in Holland, Massachusetts. He attended Tantasqua Regional High School and graduated when he was sixteen.[2]
While still living in Holland, Crouse founded a local pop-rock band called Leaving Stafford.[3] He signed a short-lived demo deal with Epic Records in 2009.[4]
In 2011, Crouse signed with Show Dog-Universal Music, and toured with Toby Keith and The Band Perry.[3] He released his debut single "If You Want Some" in February 2013.[5] It received three-and-a-half stars from Taste of Country reviewer Billy Dukes, who thought that Crouse "sings with more confidence than 20 years provides most artists".[6] The song, which he wrote with Jamie Houston and Luke Laird, debuted at number 59 on the Country Airplay charts in January 2013.[3] His album, Even the River Runs, was released on August 19, 2014, and entered the Billboard Top Country Albums at No. 20.[7] Crouse made his Grand Ole Opry debut on April 18, 2014.[8]
From May to July 2013, he toured with Taylor Swift as a part of her Red Tour as one of her opening acts, playing before the other opening act, Ed Sheeran.[9]
On July 10, 2020, Crouse released his first feature collaboration with German DJ Wave Wave, "Broke".[9]
Crouse released "wasteLAnd" EP on his label, Hum Records, in August 2020. "On My Way" was the lead single co-written by Ed Sheeran and the Official Music Video features Darius Rucker, Ed Sheeran, and Lucy Hale.[9] American Songwriter published an interview with Crouse about the EP, which "chronicles Crouse’s roller-coaster experience with the music business. [Crouse said] 'I had gone from touring with Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran and Darius Rucker,' he says. 'Four years later, my business manager ends up going to jail. I ended up getting in this horrible deal that I had to fight my way out of. And at this time, I’m broke, too. I’m on food stamps, trying to survive. I end up going to write a song with Todd Clark and he was like, ‘What’s going on in your life?’ I told him, ‘Dude, I feel like I’m just surviving.’ That started everything. I just started writing everything that was going on around me.'”[10]
In December 2020, Darius Rucker included Crouse in SPIN Magazine's The 35 Best Lesser-Known Artists of the Last 35 Years, Picked by 35 Well-Known Artists, saying "Joel Crouse has a sense of melody like no one I have been around. I think that comes from having such a unique voice, it’s so original."[11]
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Country Airplay | ||||
| 2013 | "If You Want Some" | 50 | 32 | Even the River Runs | |
| 2014 | "Why God Made Love Songs" | - | 53 | ||
| "Don't Tell Me" | - | - | |||
| "-" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
| Year | Video | Director | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "If You Want Some"[13] | Chris Hicky | |
| 2020 | "On My Way" | Robbie Norris |