Ricky Montgomery Explained
Ricky Montgomery |
Label: | Warner |
Birth Name: | Richard Owen Holmes Montgomery |
Birth Date: | 3 April 1993 |
Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Years Active: | 2014–present |
Origin: | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
Richard Owen Holmes Montgomery (born April 3, 1993) is an American singer-songwriter. In 2020, his songs went viral on TikTok, leading to being signed with Warner Records later that year.
Early life
Richard Owen Holmes Montgomery[1] was born in Los Angeles[2] on April 3, 1993.[3] His mother was a teacher,[4] and his father was a gaffer.[5] When Montgomery was young, his parents got a divorce,[6] and in 2005, he and his mother moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he lived from ages 12–21, and where he also attended college.[7] At the age of 14, he began to play in various bands. In 2014, he gained a following on Vine, a short-form video service, posting comical original songs.[8] He found the site the day after the app had launched from a CNN news article. He saw the site as a potential "springboard for a possible music career." After finding success with Vine, Montgomery released his first EP, Caught on the Moon. Soon after, he dropped out of college and returned to Los Angeles to pursue a musical career.
In 2009, Montgomery's father died in Mexico. His father's passing was initially thought to be a scuba-diving accident; however, Montgomery later discovered his father committed suicide after finding hand-written letters.[9] In regards to this experience, Montgomery said he initially "didn't talk about it a lot", but in 2023, he released the song "Black Fins", about his father's death.[10]
He has a sister.
Personal Life
Ricky is non-binary.[11]
Montgomery’s pronouns are he/they.[12]
Career
In LA, he released his first studio album Montgomery Ricky on April 1, 2016.[13] Montgomery founded indie band The Honeysticks with a childhood friend of his[14] to experiment musically. The band name was derived from a snack Montgomery ate every Saturday morning when he was a kid, made of sticks of honey. In 2018, he took the year off from making music. He has started social media marketing companies to earn more money.[15] By 2020, he considered quitting making music entirely. However, in mid-2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, his two singles—"Mr Loverman" and "Line Without A Hook"—went viral on TikTok. With his explosion in popularity, he was contacted by "virtually every single major label A&R in a matter of months." In December 2020, after a large bidding war, Montgomery signed with Warner Records.[16] [17]
Since then, he has remixed two songs in 2021 from his debut album with fellow artists Chloe Moriondo and mxmtoon respectively. Montgomery came in contact with mxmtoon after finding her perform one of his songs on the streaming platform Twitch, learning that she had been a fan of his Vine content before it shut down. He found Moriondo from a song cover of "Out Like A Light".[18]
On going viral leading to a record deal, he told Vox that despite virality in songs or a record deal, artists get stuck on a perpetual treadmill of self-promotion: "Next thing you know, it’s been three years and you’ve spent almost no time on your art. You’re getting worse at it, but you’re becoming a great marketer for a product which is less and less good."[19]
Discography
Albums
- Montgomery Ricky (2016)
- Rick (2023)
- Rick(y) (2024)
EPs
- Caught on the Moon (2014)
- The Honeysticks (2018)[20]
- It's 2016 Somewhere (2022)[21]
Singles
- "Out Like A Light" (2017)[22]
- "Out Like A Light 2" (2019)[23]
- "Cars" (2020)[24]
- "Line Without A Hook" (2021),ARIA: Platinum[25] BPI: Silver,[26] RIAA: Platinum,[27] MC: Platinum[28]
- "Mr Loverman" (2021), ARIA: Platinum,[25] BPI: Silver,[26] RIAA: Platinum,[27] MC: Platinum[28]
- "Talk To You" (2021)[29]
- "Sorry for Me" (2021)[30]
- "Eraser" (2023)[31]
- "Don't Say That" (2023)[32]
- "Nobody Loves Me" (2023)[33]
- "Black Fins" (2023)
- "Boy Toy" (2023)[34]
- “It’s Ok to Cry” (2024)
Notes and References
- 459840230275973120. rohmontgomery. i know. my full name is Richard Owen Holmes Montgomery. Richard Owen Holmes. Montgomery. 2023-07-18.
- 1348733278103113729. rohmontgomery. i am *from* LA, i lived in st. louis from ages 12-21. Richard Owen Holmes. Montgomery. 2023-07-18.
- 1113501207266377728. rohmontgomery. it's official, baby!! I just turned 26 and no longer have health insurance who wants to come over and kick my ass?. Richard Owen Holmes. Montgomery. 2023-07-18.
- Web site: Montgomery . Ricky . ricky montgomery . June 3, 2021.
- 1678893571800457219. rohmontgomery. by "worked at warner bros" i mean he was a gaffer in a stage lighting union and most of his gigs were at the warner bros lot in burbank. so unofficial. and yet it still gives me the willies. Richard Owen Holmes. Montgomery. 2023-07-18.
- News: Myszkowski. Max. December 3, 2019. The Honeysticks Sweeten Storke Plaza. Daily Nexus. Music. June 3, 2021.
- 894347700438573056. rohmontgomery. my old college in st. louis did local plays and 17-75 year olds would do it. don't know if there are any local colleges doin that in CA tho. Richard Owen Holmes. Montgomery. 2023-07-18.
- Ginsberg. Gab. February 5, 2021. Ricky Montgomery Signs With Warner Records, Debuts 'Line Without a Hook' With Mxmtoon: Exclusive. June 3, 2021. Billboard.
- News: Vigil. Dom. July 14, 2023. Ricky Montgomery Reveals New Single, Black Fins. Prelude Press. February 29, 2024.
- Web site: Montgomery. Ricky. Black Fins. February 29, 2024.
- https://x.com/rohmontgomery/status/1773045958172938524
- because i get this question 10,000 times a day: pronouns are he/they. . 1409633164968960010 . Ricky . Montgomery . rohmontgomery . May 13, 2022.
- Web site: Caulfield. AJ. April 2, 2016. Album Review: Ricky Montgomery – "Montgomery Ricky". June 3, 2021. The Young Folks.
- Crowley. Erin. February 5, 2021. Ricky Montgomery & mxmtoon Team up for New Version of 'Line Without a Hook'. Melodic Magazine. June 3, 2021.
- Web site: Montgomery . Richard Owen Holmes [u/montgomeryricky] . 2021-02-18 . Hello! I am singer-songwriter Ricky Montgomery. I wrote Mr Loverman and Line Without a Hook, two of the biggest TikTok songs of the last year. I also do music as a job. AMA! . 2023-07-18 . r/Music.
- Web site: Ricky Montgomery - Paradigm Talent Agency. June 3, 2021. Paradigm Talent Agency. June 4, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210604021719/https://www.paradigmagency.com/music/ricky-montgomery/. dead.
- Ricky Montgomery Signs With Warner Records, Debuts 'Line Without a Hook' With Mxmtoon: Exclusive. November 12, 2021. Billboard. en.
- March. Kim. March 5, 2021. Ricky Montgomery and chloe moriondo Team Up on a Wistful Remake of "Mr. Loverman". Flood Magazine. June 3, 2021.
- News: Jennings . Rebecca . February 1, 2024 . Everyone's a sellout now . February 2, 2024 . . Vox Media.
- Web site: The Honeysticks EP, by The Honeysticks . 2023-07-19 . . en.
- Web site: Krueger . Jonah . 2022-04-15 . Ricky Montgomery Shares Origins of It's 2016 Somewhere EP: Exclusive . 2023-07-19 . Consequence . en-US.
- Web site: Caulfield . AJ . 2017-06-16 . Song Review: Ricky Montgomery & The Honeysticks – "Out Like a Light" . 2023-07-19 . en-US.
- Web site: Schaut . Shu Lan . 2022-09-23 . Ricky Montgomery lives to be live . 2023-07-19 . The Daily Cardinal . en.
- Web site: Estrada . Sienna . 2020-07-10 . The Honeysticks get experimental on new track "Cars" . 2023-07-19 . . en-US.
- Web site: Singles Accreditations Report - March 2024. Australian Recording Industry Association. 18 April 2024.
- United Kingdom. Ricky Montgomery. March 26, 2023.
- United States. Ricky Montgomery. December 20, 2022.
- Canada. Ricky Montgomery. December 20, 2022.
- Web site: Battoclette . Augusta . 2021-06-25 . Ricky Montgomery shares first solo music in five years with "Talk To You" . 2023-07-19 . Alt Press . en-US.
- Web site: Thornton . Sierra . Ricky Montgomery makes a poetic return with 'Sorry for Me' . 2023-07-19 . Massachusetts Daily Collegian.
- Web site: Koh . Vanessa . April 8, 2023 . Ricky Montgomery Returns with New Single "Eraser" . April 27, 2023 . Pop Nerd Lounge.
- Web site: Vigil . Dom . 2023-05-19 . Ricky Montgomery Don't Say That . 2023-07-19 . Prelude Press . en-US.
- Web site: Taylor . Sam . 2023-06-30 . mxmtoon, Cavetown and Ricky Montgomery have teamed up for a new single, 'Nobody Loves Me' . 2023-07-19 . Dork . en-US.
- Web site: Vigil . Dom . 2023-08-18 . Ricky Montgomery Releases New Single, "Boy Toy" . 2023-08-19 . en-US.