Gives You Hell

Background:

American singer-songwriter and bassist Tyson Ritter is widely popular as the lead vocalist of The All-American Rejects, a four piece rock group he founded with high school pal and lead guitarist Nick Wheeler in 2001. The group rose to fame with their self titled debut album, “The All-American Rejects” (released in 2002 by Doghouse Records, re-released in 2003 by DreamWorks). It went platinum in the U.S. and spawned the hit single “Swing, Swing” (# 60 on Billboard's Hot 100). Ritter and his group gained more mainstream triumph with the follow-up “Move Along” (released in 2005 by Interscope/Doghouse). Thanks to the hit songs “Dirty Little Secret,” “Move Along” and “It Ends Tonight,” which peaked at No. 9, No. 15 and No. 8 on Billboard's Hot 100, respectively, the album received double platinum certification. Their third studio album, “When the World Comes Down,” (released in 2008), produced the international hit “Gives You Hell,” which also became the group's most successful single on the Billboard Hot 100 (#4) and the first No. 1 hit on Pop 100 Airplay, Pop 100, Mainstream Top 40, and Adult Top 40 charts. On stage, Ritter is recognized for dancing during Wheeler's solos.

Along with The All-American Rejects members, Ritter was honored as a “Rising Star” by the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame on October 8, 2008. The same year, he received the supporting role of Colby in the film “The House Bunny” (2008).

5' 10” Ritter also has a clothing line called Butter.

Ritter is currently in a relationship with model/actress Kim Smith. Dating since 2003, the couple now resides in Destin, Florida. Ritter is a fan of Def Leppard and mentions N*SYNC as his favorite band. His favorite foods include cereal, pizza and peanut butter.

Ty

Childhood and Family:

“Stillwater was actually perfect for us. It pretty much screams un-excitement. The only thing you can do here is drink beer, have sex or write music.” Tyson Ritter (on his hometown)

Tyson Jay Ritter was born on April 24, 1984, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Growing up, he enjoyed rock music and found he had a knack for it when he was in middle school. It was in high school that he met future guitarist and keyboardist for The All-American Rejects, Nick Wheeler.

Tyson Ritter’s parents are divorced. His nickname is Ty and his younger sister claims she is his biggest fan.

The All-American Rejects

Career:

Founded in 2001 in Stillwater, Oklahoma, The All-American Rejects, with Ritter on bass guitar and lead vocals and Nick Wheeler on lead guitar and keyboard, quickly recruited drummer Tim Campbell. They began to tour the Midwest and at the shows handed out “Same Girl, New Songs,” a self made demo CD comprising of songs written by high school friends Ritter and Wheeler. After Campbell left the group they gained attention from the independent Doghouse Records, who soon took The All-American Rejects under their wing.

On October 1, 2002, The All-American Rejects released the self titled album “The All-American Rejects,” with the single “Swing, Swing” peaking at No. 26 on the Modern Rock Track. Soon after, drummer Chris Gaylor and rhythm guitarist Mike Kennerty were added to the lineup and The All-American Rejects signed with DreamWorks Records, who re-released their album on February 4, 2003, in the U.S. Under DreamWorks, the debut album rose to No. 25 on the Billboard 200 and the single “Swing, Swing” rose to No. 8 on the Modern Rock Tracks. The single also peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 13 on the U.K. Singles Chart. The second single, “The Last Song,” rose to No. 29 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. With sales of more than one million pieces, “The All-American Rejects” eventually earned platinum certification from RIAA.

Ritter and his band hit the road for the first time as headliners in the spring of 2003 in the “Too Bad For Hell Tour.” A video album titled “Live from Oklahoma... The Too Bad for Hell DVD” was released by DreamWorks on September 30, 2003. It has received gold certification. Also in 2003, the group performed on the Vans Warped Tour, a show that they would reprise in 2005.

Back to their studio, Ritter and The All-American Rejects worked on their sophomore album “Move Along,” which hit the music stores on July 12, 2005. Released by Interscope, the album proved to be a bigger financial success than its predecessor when it sold over 2 million copies in the U.S. and received double platinum certification in June 2008. It debuted on No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for nearly 100 weeks. “Move Along” also enjoyed significant success in both the U.K. and Canada, in which the album went gold and platinum, respectively. The lead single, “Dirty Little Secret,” (2006) peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, which marked the first Top 10 single from the group, and went platinum. It also peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Pop 100 and No. 18 on the U.K. charts. The follow-up, “Move Along,” (2006) charted at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the third single, “It Ends Tonight” (2007), a ballad co-written by Ritter and Wheeler, rose to No. 8 on Billboard's Hot 100 and No. 7 on Billboard's Pop 100.

On December 13, 2005, the group released an EP called “The Bite Black EP” that was available only on iTunes. The second video album, “Tournado,” followed on July 17, 2007. It was shot at the Roy Wilkens Auditorium in Saint Paul, Minnesota, during the band’s 2006 headlining tour.

After three years, Ritter and his group released a new album, “When the World Comes Down,” on December 16, 2008. Produced by Eric Valentine, who has also worked with Maroon 5, the album rose to No. 15 on Billboard's 200 and No. 16 on Billboard's Comprehensive Albums. It also hit the Top 10 on the Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums (#3), the Top Rocks Albums (#6) and Top Digital Albums (#2). The first single, “Gives You Hell,” (released in September 2008) debuted at No. 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 and steadily climbed the chart until reached the peak at No. 4. The song also rose to No. 1 on the Mainstream Top 40, the Adult Top 40 Tracks Charts, the Pop 100 Airplay, and the Pop 100. It has earned 3X’s platinum status in the U.S. and platinum certification in Australia. The second single, “The Wind Blows,” (released in April 2009) failed to enter Billboard's Hot 100 but rose to No. 56 on the Billboard Pop 100 and No. 34 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40.

After the third album, Ritter and his group released five digital EPs titled “The All-American Rejects Soundcheck Vol. 1” (December 2008), “Gives You Hell: The Remixes” (February 2009), “The All-American Rejects Soundcheck Vol. 2” (February 2009), “The Wind Blows: The Remixes” (June 2009) and “Rhapsody Originals” (June 2009).

Ritter made his film acting debut in the Fred Wolf directed “The House Bunny” (2008), where he was cast as Colby. The comedy starred Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Beverly D'Angelo, Christopher McDonald, and Kat Dennings.

Awards:
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