Ricky Montgomery

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Ricky Montgomery
A shoulders-up portrait of Ricky Montgomery in concert. He is wearing a tank top and light raincoat, and is singing passionately into a microphone.
Montgomery in 2024.
Background information
Birth nameRichard Owen Holmes Montgomery
Born (1993-04-03) April 3, 1993 (age 31)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OriginSt. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Genres
Years active2014–present
LabelsWarner
Websiterickymontgomery.com

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[edit]

Richard Owen Holmes Montgomery[1] was born in Los Angeles[2] on April 3, 1993.[3] His mother was a teacher,[4][better source needed] 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,[2] and where he also attended college.[7] At the age of 14, he began to play in various bands.[8] In 2014, he gained a following on Vine, a short-form video service, posting comical original songs.[9] 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."[6] After finding success with Vine, Montgomery released his first EP, Caught on the Moon.[9] Soon after, he dropped out of college and returned to Los Angeles to pursue a musical career.[8]

In 2009, Montgomery's father died in Mexico. His father's passing was initially thought to be a scuba-diving accident until Ricky found hand-written letters.[10] 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.[11]

He has a sister.[6] His pronouns are he/they.[12]

Career[edit]

In LA, he released his first studio album Montgomery Ricky on April 1, 2016.[8][13] Montgomery founded indie band The Honeysticks with a childhood friend of his[14] to experiment musically.[when?][8][9] The band name was derived from a snack Montgomery ate every Saturday morning when he was a kid, made of sticks of honey.[6] In 2018, he took the year off from making music.[8] He has started social media marketing companies to earn more money.[15] By 2020, he considered quitting making music entirely.[8][9] However, in mid-2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, his two singles—"Mr Loverman" and "Line Without A Hook"—went viral on TikTok.[8] With his explosion in popularity, he was contacted by "virtually every single major label A&R in a matter of months."[9] In December 2020,[9] after a large bidding war, Montgomery signed with Warner Records.[8][16]

I think because we had a really traumatizing year, these songs kind of found a moment, because they're all, in their own way, about traumas in my life.

— Ricky Montgomery[14]

Since then, he has remixed two songs in 2021 from his debut album with fellow artists Chloe Moriondo and mxmtoon respectively.[9][14] 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.[9] He found Moriondo from a song cover of "Out Like A Light".[17]

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."[18]

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

  • Montgomery Ricky (2016)
  • Rick (2023)

EPs[edit]

  • Caught on the Moon (2014)[9]
  • The Honeysticks (2018)[19]
  • It's 2016 Somewhere (2022)[20]

Singles[edit]

  • "Out Like A Light" (2017)[21]
  • "Out Like A Light 2" (2019)[22]
  • "Cars" (2020)[23]
  • "Line Without A Hook" (2021),[a]ARIA: Platinum[24]BPI: Silver,[25] RIAA: Platinum,[26] MC: Platinum[27]
  • "Mr Loverman" (2021),[b][17] ARIA: Platinum,[24] BPI: Silver,[25] RIAA: Platinum,[26] MC: Platinum[27]
  • "Talk To You" (2021)[28]
  • "Sorry for Me" (2021)[29]
  • "Eraser" (2023)[30]
  • "Don't Say That" (2023)[31]
  • "Nobody Loves Me" (2023)[32]
  • "Black Fins" (2023)[10]
  • "Boy Toy" (2023)[33]
  • “It’s Ok to Cry” (2024)

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ This is a remake of the song with the same title in the album "Montgomery Ricky" with singer mxmtoon
  2. ^ This song is a remake of the same song in his album "Montgomery Ricky" with musician Chloe Moriondo

References[edit]

  1. ^ Montgomery, Richard Owen Holmes [@rohmontgomery] (April 25, 2014). "i know. my full name is Richard Owen Holmes Montgomery" (Tweet). Retrieved July 18, 2023 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b Montgomery, Richard Owen Holmes [@rohmontgomery] (January 11, 2021). "i am *from* LA, i lived in st. louis from ages 12-21" (Tweet). Retrieved July 18, 2023 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Montgomery, Richard Owen Holmes [@rohmontgomery] (April 3, 2019). "it's official, baby!! I just turned 26 and no longer have health insurance 🥰😜 who wants to come over and kick my ass?" (Tweet). Retrieved July 18, 2023 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Montgomery, Ricky. "ricky montgomery". Retrieved June 3, 2021.[failed verification]
  5. ^ Montgomery, Richard Owen Holmes [@rohmontgomery] (July 11, 2023). "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" (Tweet). Retrieved July 18, 2023 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ a b c d Myszkowski, Max (December 3, 2019). "The Honeysticks Sweeten Storke Plaza". Music. Daily Nexus. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  7. ^ Montgomery, Richard Owen Holmes [@rohmontgomery] (August 7, 2017). "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" (Tweet). Retrieved July 18, 2023 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h "Ricky Montgomery - Paradigm Talent Agency". Paradigm Talent Agency. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ginsberg, Gab (February 5, 2021). "Ricky Montgomery Signs With Warner Records, Debuts 'Line Without a Hook' With Mxmtoon: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Vigil, Dom (July 14, 2023). "Ricky Montgomery Reveals New Single, Black Fins". Prelude Press. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  11. ^ Montgomery, Ricky. "Black Fins". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  12. ^ Montgomery, Ricky [@rohmontgomery] (June 28, 2021). "because i get this question 10,000 times a day: pronouns are he/they" (Tweet). Retrieved May 13, 2022 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Caulfield, AJ (April 2, 2016). "Album Review: Ricky Montgomery – "Montgomery Ricky"". The Young Folks. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c Crowley, Erin (February 5, 2021). "Ricky Montgomery & mxmtoon Team up for New Version of 'Line Without a Hook'". Melodic Magazine. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  15. ^ Montgomery, Richard Owen Holmes [u/montgomeryricky] (February 18, 2021). "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!". r/Music. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  16. ^ "Ricky Montgomery Signs With Warner Records, Debuts 'Line Without a Hook' With Mxmtoon: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  17. ^ a b March, Kim (March 5, 2021). "Ricky Montgomery and chloe moriondo Team Up on a Wistful Remake of "Mr. Loverman"". Flood Magazine. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  18. ^ Jennings, Rebecca (February 1, 2024). "Everyone's a sellout now". Vox. Vox Media. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  19. ^ "The Honeysticks EP, by The Honeysticks". Bandcamp. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  20. ^ Krueger, Jonah (April 15, 2022). "Ricky Montgomery Shares Origins of It's 2016 Somewhere EP: Exclusive". Consequence. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  21. ^ Caulfield, AJ (June 16, 2017). "Song Review: Ricky Montgomery & The Honeysticks – "Out Like a Light"". Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  22. ^ Schaut, Shu Lan (September 23, 2022). "Ricky Montgomery lives to be live". The Daily Cardinal. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  23. ^ Estrada, Sienna (July 10, 2020). "The Honeysticks get experimental on new track "Cars"". Earmilk. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  24. ^ a b "Singles Accreditations Report - March 2024" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  25. ^ a b "British certifications – Ricky Montgomery". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 26, 2023. Type Ricky Montgomery in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  26. ^ a b "American certifications – Ricky Montgomery". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  27. ^ a b "Canadian certifications – Ricky Montgomery". Music Canada. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  28. ^ Battoclette, Augusta (June 25, 2021). "Ricky Montgomery shares first solo music in five years with "Talk To You"". Alt Press. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  29. ^ Thornton, Sierra. "Ricky Montgomery makes a poetic return with 'Sorry for Me'". Massachusetts Daily Collegian. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  30. ^ Koh, Vanessa (April 8, 2023). "Ricky Montgomery Returns with New Single "Eraser"". Pop Nerd Lounge. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  31. ^ Vigil, Dom (May 19, 2023). "Ricky Montgomery Don't Say That". Prelude Press. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  32. ^ Taylor, Sam (June 30, 2023). "mxmtoon, Cavetown and Ricky Montgomery have teamed up for a new single, 'Nobody Loves Me'". Dork. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  33. ^ Vigil, Dom (August 18, 2023). "Ricky Montgomery Releases New Single, "Boy Toy"". Retrieved August 19, 2023.
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