Tyler James Hilton (born November 22, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Hilton began his professional career in music in 2000. '' Rolling Stone magazine'' compared him to his contemporary,

Howie Day Howard Kern Day is an American singer-songwriter. Beginning his career as a solo artist in the late 1990s, Day became known for his extensive touring and in-concert use of samplers and effects pedals to accompany himself. He self-financed and ...

, while others have compared Hilton to

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, both vocally and instrumentally. Since the release of his debut album, Hilton has ventured into acting, guest starring on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

's ''

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

'' as the talented but arrogant Chris Keller, and playing the role of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

in the

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

biopic ''

Walk the Line ''Walk the Line'' is a 2005 American biographical musical romantic drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies authored by singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, 1975's '' M ...

''. He also appeared in

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

's music video " Teardrops on My Guitar" and

Gloriana ''Gloriana'', Op. 53, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten to an English libretto by William Plomer, based on Lytton Strachey's 1928 ''Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History''. The first performance was presented at the Royal Opera Ho ...

's music video "

(Kissed You) Good Night "(Kissed You) Good Night" is a song recorded by the American country music group Gloriana. Written by group member Tom Gossin with Josh Kear, it was released in October 2011 as the second single from the band's album ''A Thousand Miles Left Behind ...

Early years and personal life

Hilton was born in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...

, the son of Kristy (née Herren) and Robert George Hilton. Raised in

Bermuda Dunes, California Bermuda Dunes is a census-designated place (CDP) in Riverside County, California. The population was 7,282 at the 2010 census. Bermuda Dunes is located near Indio and east of Palm Springs. The community's former name was ''Myoma''. The Bermuda Du ...

, Hilton grew up around music and began teaching himself

songs at an early age. After a brief stint in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

, his family moved back to the Palm Springs area, where he wrote his first song about a girl named Rhian with whom he attended school. Hilton's family made another move back to

Coachella Valley , map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg , map_caption = Coachella Valley , location = California, United States , coordinates = , width = , boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacin ...

for high school, where, at La Quinta High School, he started a band with some of his classmates. The band did not go anywhere, so Hilton began to enter open mic nights and went to local coffee shops to play his own music. Hilton lives in Los Angeles. He became engaged to actress

Megan Park Megan Park (born July 24, 1986) is a Canadian actress and director. She is known for her portrayal of Grace Bowman in the television series '' The Secret Life of the American Teenager''. In 2021, Park made her feature directorial debut with '' T ...

, whom he met on the set of ''

Charlie Bartlett ''Charlie Bartlett'' is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Jon Poll. The screenplay by Gustin Nash focuses on a teenager who begins to dispense therapeutic advice and prescription drugs to the student body at his new high school in ...

'', in 2006, and they married on October 10, 2015. The couple has one daughter, born in 2019.

Music career

Hilton heard a local radio station was giving away

Jonny Lang Jon Gordon Langseth Jr. (born January 29, 1981), known as Jonny Lang, is an American blues, gospel, and rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has made five albums that have charted on the top 50 of the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and has w ...

concert tickets and called into The Mark & Brian radio show on

KLOS Klos or KLOS may refer to: * Klos (surname) * Klos, Dibër, a town in eastern Albania ** Harketari Klos KF, a defunct football club based in Klos, Dibër * Klos, Elbasan, a village in central Albania * Klos, Mallakastër, a village in south-central ...

in Los Angeles at the age of 16. While on the phone, he sang an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

version of

’s song "Breakin' Me". Mark & Brian were so impressed with Hilton's performance that they gave him a spot at the station's Christmas concert. Word of Hilton caught the ear of

Maverick Records Maverick was an American entertainment company founded in 1992 by Madonna, Frederick DeMann, and Veronica "Ronnie" Dashev, and formerly owned and operated by Warner Music Group. It included a record label (Maverick Records), a film production ...

(owned by Warner Bros. Records), who signed him up with a record deal when he was 18. Hilton released a self-titled EP on April 6, 2004. All four songs were included on his first album ''The Tracks of Tyler Hilton'' released on September 28, 2004. After the release of his album, Hilton joined the likes of

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, '' Let Go'' (2002), is the best-selling album of the 2 ...

, Jet,

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

, and

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

as an artist chosen by

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...

Breaker for his star potential. In addition to his own albums, Hilton has also appeared on each of the three different ''

'' soundtrack albums, some with formerly unreleased material that cannot be found anywhere else. Most notably, the cover of the

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams lef ...

song "When the Stars Go Blue", which was arranged into a duet with One Tree Hill star

Bethany Joy Lenz Bethany Joy Lenz (born April 2, 1981) is an American actress, singer-songwriter and filmmaker. She is known for her portrayal of Haley James Scott on The WB / The CW television drama '' One Tree Hill'' (2003–2012). She also starred as Michell ...

for the show; also, a cover of "Missing You" by John Waite and the original track "You'll Ask For Me". In 2005, he was part of a 23-city concert tour along with Lenz, The Wreckers and

Gavin Degraw Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song "I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album ''Chariot'' (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB drama series '' One Tree ...

. During the summer of that year, he opened for

Hilary Duff Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her acti ...

on her "Still Most Wanted Tour". His EP, ''Better on Beachwood'', which features three songs was released in May 2009. ''Ladies & Gentlemen'', another EP followed in April 2010 and features five songs. Both EPs are available on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

. For five years, Hilton worked on an album called ''The Storms We Share''. The album, containing some songs of ''Ladies & Gentlemen'', was planned to be released in the late summer of 2010. However, when the direction changed at Warner Bros. Records, Hilton left the label resulting in the material not being released. On June 27, 2011, Tyler Hilton's song "Faithful" was released on the soundtrack of ''

Larry Crowne ''Larry Crowne'' is a 2011 American romantic comedy film starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. The film was produced and directed by Hanks, who co-wrote its screenplay with Nia Vardalos. The story was inspired by Hanks' time studying at Chabot ...

''. On January 11, 2012, Hilton released a free song called "Loaded Gun" from his upcoming album ''Forget the Storm'' on his website and was featured in the season 9 premiere episode of ''One Tree Hill'' following his return as Chris Keller. Hilton also debuted two songs from the album called "Kicking My Heels" and "Prince of Nothing Charming" on the show. On February 14, 2012, "Prince of Nothing Charming", the first single from Hilton's upcoming album ''Forget the Storm,'' was made available on iTunes. On March 7, 2012, Hilton revealed via Twitter that ''Forget The Storm'', his first full-length LP since 2004, would be released on April 3, 2012. The album was produced by

David Hodges David Hall Hodges (born December 5, 1978) is an American songwriter and record producer from Little Rock, Arkansas. He was a studio contributor to the rock band Evanescence from 2000–2002. He has since had success co-writing and co–produci ...

among others and released through Hilton's own label, Hooptie Tune Records. He chose to title it "Forget the Storm" as a reference to his unreleased album, "The Storms We Share", and described it as "a little more rock and roll." Hilton began a tour in the United States with Dion Roy and "Dakota and Will" in March 2012 which ended mid June 2012. He also toured with

Boyce Avenue Boyce Avenue is an American cover band formed in Sarasota, Florida, by brothers Alejandro Luis Manzano, Daniel Enrique Manzano, and Fabian Rafael Manzano. The brothers attended Pine View School in Osprey, Florida. The band is named after a c ...

in the UK and Ireland in June 2012 until July 2012 and will return late October 2012 on his own headlining tour after more US shows, wrapping up the year with shows back in the US. On December 7, 2016, Hilton release a new single called "Next To You" on iTunes; It was recorded on his Forget The Storm Deluxe Version as an acoustic version. In 2017, Tyler Hilton released his cover of "Stay" by

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to th ...

and released his most recent single "Overtime" on August 15, 2017.

Acting

After his stint as Chris Keller on ''

'', Hilton went on to appear in the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning film ''

'' as a young

. For the part, Hilton was given the opportunity to cover two Elvis songs for the film: "Milk Cow Blues" and "

That's All Right "That's All Right" is a song written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup and recorded in 1946. The song was rereleased in early March 1949 under the title "That's All Right, Mama", which was issued as RCA's first rhythm and bl ...

". Both songs are featured on the film's award-winning

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

. In 2007, Hilton played the love interest in country music artist

's music video for her song " Teardrops on My Guitar" and appeared in the 2008 film ''

''. He was with ''Charlie Bartlett'' co-star and now wife

in the music video for the band

's song "(Kissed You) Good Night" released in January 2012. Hilton also performed in a Season 4 episode of ''

My Super Sweet Sixteen ''My Super Sweet 16'' is an American reality television series documenting the lives of teenagers, usually in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, generally with wealthy parents who throw lavish, excessive and expensive coming-of-age ce ...

'' (Amberly) during a young girl's sweet 16 party. He also appeared on VH1's '' Single Ladies''. After a five-year break from ''One Tree Hill'', Hilton returned as a regular for its

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

and final season. In 2016, Hilton played Noah Casey, a billionaire love interest for the main character in '' Pitch''.

Filmography

Discography

Albums

* ''Tyler Hilton'' (2000) US Heatseekers Albums No. 12 * ''The Tracks Of'' (2004) US Heatseekers Albums No. 15 * ''Forget the Storm'' (2012) US #189; US Heatseekers Albums No. 2 * ''Live in Atlanta'' (2012) * ''Forget the Storm – Deluxe edition'' (2013) * ''Indian Summer'' (2014) * ''City on Fire'' (2019)

EPs

* ''Better on Beachwood'' (2009) * ''Ladies & Gentlemen'' (April 20, 2010)

Music videos

References

External links

* *
Tyler Hilton collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

's live music archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Hilton, Tyler 1983 births Living people 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers American male film actors American male pop singers American male television actors American indie rock musicians American pop rock singers Male actors from Palm Springs, California Musicians from Palm Springs, California People from Bermuda Dunes, California People from La Quinta, California Singers from California Maverick Records artists