James Mitchell Tenpenny III (born August 17, 1989) is an American country pop singer and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. He has released three studio albums and five extended plays through Riser House Records, with the first being Telling All My Secrets released in December 2018. He charted in 2018 with the single "Drunk Me", released on Columbia Records Nashville. He also co wrote "If the Boot Fits" with Granger Smith and the song made it to the top 10 on Country Airplay.

Early life Tenpenny was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. His grandmother was music publishing executive Donna Hilley. According to Tenpenny, when he was 11, his grandmother introduced to him songwriters Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman and he became interested in songwriting. He grew up listening to country, rock, and R&B, and cited Vince Gill, John Mayer, and Michael Jackson among his musical influences. He attended Lipscomb Academy in Nashville where he played football. He then enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University where he originally intended to play college football, but became more interested being in a band. He graduated with a music business degree.

Music career

Tenpenny released his debut album, titled Black Crow, in 2015. A track, "Canes Creek", featured the bluegrass band The SteelDrivers. His debut single was the title track of the album, "Black Crow". In his early songwriting career, he wrote a number of songs with artists such as Nick Fradiani; an early success is the Top 10 song he co-wrote "If the Boot Fits", recorded by Granger Smith. He signed a publishing deal with Sony ATV Music Publishing Nashville, and was involved in the documentary film The Voyage in 2014. He was signed to a newly formed Riser Records in 2016.

In July 2017, Tenpenny released an EP, Linden Ave, named after the street where his grandmother Donna Hilley used to live. The EP charted at No. 10 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart, No. 6 in Heatseekers Albums, and No. 12 in Country Album Sales, with 2,100 copies sold in its first week.

In January 2018, Tenpenny entered into a joint venture with Riser House/Columbia Nashville and released a self-titled EP on February 23, featuring a new single "Drunk Me".

He released his second album and full-length major label debut album titled Telling All My Secrets on December 14, 2018. It debuted at No. 5 on Billboards Top Country Albums chart, and No. 53 on Billboard 200, after accruing 20,000 album equivalent units in its first week.

Personal life Tenpenny has been in a long-term relationship with fellow country singer Meghan Patrick. On November 24, 2021, the two got engaged in the bar where they first met. Tenpenny and Patrick married on October 23, 2022. On April 4, 2026, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child together. On September 8, 2026, they announced the birth of their daughter.

Discography Albums +List of albums, with selected details, peak chart positions, sales and certifications shown Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications US USCountryBlack Crow Release date: April 28, 2015 Label: Creation Lab Formats: CD, digital download — — Telling All My Secrets Release date: December 14, 2018 Label: Riser House, Columbia Nashville Formats: CD, vinyl, digital download, streaming 53 5US: 31,000RIAA: GoldNaughty List Release date: October 29, 2021 Label: Riser House, Columbia Nashville Formats: CD, digital download, streaming — —This Is the Heavy Released: September 16, 2022 Label: Riser House, Columbia Nashville Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 123 14The 3rd Released: September 20, 2024 Label: Riser House, Columbia Nashville Formats: CD, digital download, streaming — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Extended plays +List of EPs, with selected details, peak chart positions and sales shown Title EP details Peak chart positions Sales USCountry USHeat USIndieLinden Ave Release date: July 14, 2017 Label: Riser House Records Formats: Digital download — 6 10US: 2,100Mitchell Tenpenny Release date: February 23, 2018 Label: Riser House Records Formats: Digital download 35 — —US: 4,700Neon Christmas Release date: October 23, 2020 Label: Riser House Entertainment Formats: Digital download — — —Midtown Diaries Release date: September 10, 2021 Label: Riser House, Columbia Nashville Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 23 — —The Low Light Sessions Release date: April 15, 2022 Label: Riser House, Columbia Nashville Formats: CD, digital download, streaming — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles As lead artist +List of singles as lead artist, with selected peak chart positions, sales and certifications shown Year Title Peak chart positions Sales Certifications Album US US Country US Country Airplay CAN CAN Country 2015 "Black Crow" — ― ― ― ― Black Crow "Love & Rock N' Roll" — ― ― ― ― 2018 "Drunk Me" 39 6 2 60 2US: 210,000 RIAA: 4× Platinum MC: 2× PlatinumTelling All My Secrets 2019 "Alcohol You Later" — 41 43 ― ― RIAA: Gold "Anything She Says" (featuring Seaforth) — 45 58 ― ― RIAA: Platinum rowspan="2" 2020 "Broken Up" — — 58 — — 2021 "Truth About You" 54 11 2 ― 23 RIAA: Platinum MC: Platinum This Is the Heavy 2022 "We Got History" — 28 12 ― 21 RIAA: Platinum MC: Gold 2024 "Not Today" — — 60 ― ― The 3rd 2025 "Same Moon" — ― 36 ― ―2026 "Ain't My Problem" — — 60 ― ― "—" denotes releases that did not chart

As featured artist +List of singles as featured artist, with selected peak chart positions and certifications shown Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album US US Country US Country Airplay 2019 "Slow Ride" — — — We the People, Volume 1 2021 "At the End of a Bar" 75 16 1 RIAA: Gold Famous Friends "Get That All the Time" — — — Baytown 2022 "Act Like That" — — — Kings of the New Age2023 "All Gas" — — — All Gas

Promotional singles +List of promotional singles, with selected chart positions Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Album US Country CANDigital NZHot 2020 "Can't Go to Church" — — — rowspan="2" "Here" — — — 2021 "Bucket List" 45 15 — RIAA: Gold MC: Platinum Midtown Diaries "To Us It Did" — — — 2025 "Therapy" — — — rowspan="2" 2026 "You Phase" — — 35 "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Other certified songs Year Title Certifications Album 2018 "Bitches" RIAA: Gold Telling All My Secrets

Music videos +List of music videos, with year of release and director name shown Year Title Director 2015 "Black Crow" Victor Teran "Cane's Creek" Michael Everett "Love & Rock N' Roll" 2017 "Bitches" TK McKamy 2018 "Drunk Me" Justin Key 2019 "Slow Ride"(with Colt Ford) Michael Salomon 2020 "Anything She Says"(with Seaforth) Roman White "Neon Christmas" 2023 "I Hope It Snows"(with Meghan Patrick) Jay Curtis Miller 2025 “Therapy” Ty Combs Awards and nominations Year Association Category Nominee / Work Result 2019 CMT Music Awards Breakthrough Video of the Year "Drunk Me" ACM AwardsNew Male Artist of the Year Himself2024CMA AwardsNew Artist of the Year

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