Ty Herndon has experienced both the soaring highs and challenging lows of life and a decades-long career — and in 2025, he celebrates a major milestone as his record-breaking debut single, What Mattered Most, turns 30.
Between 1995 and 2002, Herndon charted 17 singles, including three No. 1s and numerous Top 10 hits such as I Want My Goodbye Back, Loved Too Much, A Man Holding On, and Hands of a Working Man. He topped the charts in 1996 with Living in a Moment and again in 1998 with It Must Be Love.
Throughout the following decade, Ty continued breaking ground, releasing a Greatest Hits collection along with the albums Right About Now, Lies I Told Myself, and the Grammy-nominated Journey On.
In 2015, Ty made history as the first major male country artist to come out as gay, following the announcement with the critically acclaimed albums House on Fire and Got It Covered, and launching the annual Concert For Love & Acceptance.
His comeback gained momentum in 2020 with Orphans of God, a duet with Kristin Chenoweth that hit No. 1 on the iTunes charts. He followed with JACOB (2022) and JACOB (Deluxe Edition) (2023), projects that candidly chronicled his journey through addiction, recovery, mental health, lost love, and personal freedom. The album produced the country radio hits Till You Get There and Dents on a Chevy — the latter, a duet with Terri Clark, spent seven weeks atop the independent country radio charts and became the No. 1 independent country single of 2023.
A Grammy-nominated and Dove Award-winning artist, Ty’s voice is stronger than ever, and his purpose runs deeper than music. In 2020, he established the Foundation For Love & Acceptance, dedicated to advancing mental health awareness, supporting addiction and trauma recovery, and fostering a more inclusive country music community.
Most recently, he teamed up with Grand Ole Opry member and GRAMMY® Award-winning powerhouse vocalist Ashley McBryde to breathe new life into his 1998 hit A Man Holdin’ On (To a Woman Lettin’ Go) — a haunting ballad about love, loss, and the moment two hearts go their separate ways. The track, now available, is the second single from Herndon’s highly anticipated new double album THIRTY, a landmark project honoring his three-decade journey through country music set to be released in two installments. Volume One will be out this fall and feature reimagined versions of Herndon’s most beloved hits — each reinterpreted as collaborations with some of the genre’s most dynamic voices.
