Country Singer Michael Ray Rocked High Dive Stage

Michael Ray is not an average country singer because he’s versed at setting a stage on fire.

“The Next: Fame Is at Your Doorstep” season one winner Ray Michael performed at High Dive Gainesville on Feb.28 for a two hour concert.

Ray is not a stranger to country music. Born in Eustis, Fla., in a family with singing background, it was not hard for him to start singing.

He first started performing at the age of 8 mostly with his family’s band in Central Florida. Ray’s grandfather is a guitarist, and both his father and uncle are singers.

Ray mainly plays guitar, but he also plays many other instruments. In 2010, two years before he won “The Next: Fame Is at Your Doorstep,” Ray released his first CD titled “Who Am I,” which he wrote half of the songs.

Soon to be 25 years old, the country singer doesn’t only thank his judges on “The Next: Fame Is at Your Doorstep” for their advices but also his fans for all their supports. He said he is blessed to be where he is now and without the fans he would not be in that position.

Ray said he enjoys the impact his songs have on people. He insinuates that it doesn’t matter if an artist records a song and feels that the songs sounds good. However, if the song doesn’t inspire the fans in any ways the artist’s job fails. An artist job is to make an impact on his or her fans.

Talking about being able to make an impact on fans, it was exactly what Ray did when he hit High Dive stage. Ray started the concert with a little bit of rock, then he continued with country. He surprised his fans by rapping, even I did not see it coming. He did a bit of freestyle and sang Nelly’s hit song “Hot in Herre.”

It was no surprise why he sang Nelly’s song because he recalled Nelly gave him one of the best advices in his career, which is to stay who he is and never change.

Many country singers stick only to their own songs when they’re performing, but Ray isn’t like many others. During his concert, he went from contemporary country music to old country music.

Furthermore, Ray is now working on his second album, yet he is not sure of the release date.