HARDY

A singer-songwriter who blends the honest lyrics of classic country with the swagger of hip-hop, the insistent hookiness of pop, and the grit of rock, HARDY is a Nashville star for the 2020s and beyond. Born in Philadelphia, MS, Michael Hardy moved to Nashville in the early 2010s; he signed his first publishing deal in 2014 and had his first charting hit three years later, when Morgan Wallen recorded his track “Up Down.” Wallen’s collaborators on that boat-party-minded jam, the duo Florida Georgia Line, liked HARDY’s style, and they released his strummy love song “Simple” as a single in 2018. While writing songs for FGL and other Nashville superstars like Blake Shelton, HARDY embarked on a solo career, releasing his first EP, THIS OLE BOY, in 2018, and following that up with the EP WHERE TO FIND ME in 2019. Later that year, his first full-length, the boisterous HIXTAPE: Vol. 1, showed off his versatility, his appreciation of 21st-century country’s anything-goes mindset, and his contact list—he snagged cameos from Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett, Lauren Alaina, and other big names. HARDY’s first proper solo album, A ROCK, came out in 2020, placing him front and center, with the honky-tonk sing-along “UNAPOLOGETICALLY COUNTRY AS HELL” summing up his songwriting aesthetic. Never complacent, his next full-length, 2023’s the mockingbird & THE CROW, leaned into his Southern rock sensibilities. And then, 2024’s Quit!! went full tilt into the genre. But he returned to his roots in 2025 with the aptly titled COUNTRY! COUNTRY! COUNTRY!—somewhat sarcastic in name, but a genuine dive into the Nashville energy that made him an in-demand writer over his career.