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James Edward Allen (born June 18, 1985) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He was signed to Broken Bow Records imprint Stoney Creek, for which he released the two singles "Best Shot" and "Make Me Want To" and the 2018 album Mercury Lane. In 2021, he won the Country Music Association Award for New Artist of the Year, the second black artist to do so (in 2009, Darius Rucker was the first). He is the first male country artist to be nominated for Best New Artist in Grammy Awards history.
His first official single, "Best Shot", was released in early 2018. The week of its release, it was the second most-added song to country music radio playlists. The song has made the Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay, and Billboard Hot 100 charts and was made into a music video. Allen said that the song's title and central theme were inspired by his grandmother and his son, who was 4 at the time of the song's release. His debut album, Mercury Lane, was issued in October 2018. Also produced by Bowers, the album takes its name from the street on which Allen lived as a child. "Best Shot" was a Number One hit on the Billboard charts Country Airplay chart in November 2018, making him the first Black artist to send his debut single to the top of that chart. The album's second single, "Make Me Want To" released to country radio on February 1, 2019, and it also became a Number One hit on the Country Airplay chart.
Allen also recorded a cover of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's "Shallow" with Abby Anderson in May 2019. The recording was made into a video as well.
In 2020, Allen released "This Is Us", a duet with Noah Cyrus. It was included on his new EP, Bettie James, which was released on July 10, 2020. The project's second single was "Freedom Was a Highway," a duet with Brad Paisley, which was released on February 1, 2021. It became Allen's third Number One hit and Paisley's twentieth on the Country Airplay in February 2022.
Allen became the first Black solo performer to win New Male Artist of the Year at the 2021 ACM Awards (at which he also performed a duet with Brad Paisley). In September 2021, Allen was announced as one of the celebrities competing on season 30 of Dancing with the Stars. He and his partner Emma Slater were the ninth couple to be eliminated, ultimately placing 7th.
On November 10, 2021, he won New Artist of the Year at the CMA Awards. 15 days later, he performed at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In February 2022, Allen announced that he would be a guest mentor on American Idol (season 20).
He also featured on Noah Schnacky's "Don't You Wanna Know" for his 2022 album Thoughtfully Reckless and a duet with Nick Carter in "Easy".
Allen release the lead-off single, "Down Home," to his third studio album Tulip Drive on March 8, 2022. The album was released on June 24, 2022.
In 2023, Allen was a coach and judge on My Kind of Country.
The former manager agreed to drop the sexual assault case against Allen on March 14, 2024.
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |
| 2018 ! scope="row" | "Best Shot" | 1 | | rowspan="2" | | rowspan="2" Mercury Lane | ||||||
| 2019 ! scope="row" | "Make Me Want To" | 5 | ||||||||
| 2020 ! scope="row" | "This Is Us" (with Noah Cyrus) | — | | rowspan="2" Bettie James Gold Edition | |||||||
| 2021 ! scope="row" | "Freedom Was a Highway" (with Brad Paisley) | 21 | ||||||||
| 2022 ! scope="row" | "Down Home" | — | Tulip Drive | |||||||
| 2023 ! scope="row" | "Be Alright" | — | Tulip Drive | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||
| 2020 ! scope="row" | "Hometown Heroes" |
| 2020 ! scope="row" | "Good Times Roll" | 31 | Bettie James |
| 2018 ! scope="row" | "Best Shot" | Ford Fairchild |
| 2019 ! scope="row" | "Shallow" (with Abby Anderson) | |
| 2020 ! scope="row" | "This Is Us" (with Noah Cyrus) | Dustin Haney |
| 2021 ! scope="row" | "Don’t You Wanna Know" (with Noah Schnacky) | Chris Beyrooty |
| 2022 ! scope="row" | "Down Home" | Chris Beyrooty and Jimmie Allen |
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