Chase Rice

Stints on the NASCAR circuit and as a contestant on "Survivor: Nicaragua" (CBS, 2010) are not the usual paths to country music stardom, but both provided singer-songwriter Chase Rice with early exposure prior to his runaway success with the chart-topping album Ignite the Night (2014). Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Rice initially pursued a career in professional football, but injured his Achilles tendon while playing for the University of Chapel Hill at North Carolina's team. He then turned his focus to NASCAR, where he found success as a member of several winning pit crews, including racing great Jimmie Johnson's Cup car. While working the NASCAR circuit, Rice got his first chance to play music before a crowd; he had begun playing guitar while in college, but did not consider it as a career choice until getting a positive response to one of his original songs. While honing his songwriting and live performances, Rice was selected to compete on "Survivor: Nicaragua," where he competed until the final round before losing the top prize to Jud "Fabio" Birza. The show also granted Rice a national television audience to debut his first single, "Buzz Back," which was featured on his first EP, Country as Me. The following year proved to be his watershed year as a performer, with his first full-length album, Dirt Road Communion, reaching No. 48 on the Country chart, and the Florida Georgia Line single "Cruise," which he co-wrote, topping the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. A second EP, Ready Set Roll (2013), performed substantially better than its predecessor, reaching No. 4 on the Country chart the strength of its title track, which reached gold sales status. The song was also featured on Rice's second album, Ignite the Night, which solidified his new status as a country superstar by debuting at No. 1 on the Country Albums chart in August 2014.