Jonathan Adam "Jonny" Diaz (born March 30, 1984) is an American

contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it i ...

pop artist originally from

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...

. His song "More Beautiful You" has charted on American Christian music charts. His major record label debut album of the same name has charted on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine's

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

and

Top Christian Albums Top Christian Albums is a weekly chart published in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the best-performing Christian albums in the United States. Like the ''Billboard'' 200, the data is compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly ...

charts.

Career

Diaz released his first album ''Shades of White'' in August 2003 right before he began his second year of college; his second album, ''Everyday God'', was released during his fourth year of college. He collaborated with producer Mitch Dane on his third CD ''They Need Love'' and the project came out in March 2007. That album included the song "Hold Me", which got him attention when the song placed on the Top 40 charts. Diaz's major label debut album ''More Beautiful You'' album has appeared on several ''Billboard'' magazine charts; on July 25, 2009 it was ranked No. 32 on the

chart and No. 25 on the

chart. The album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release ...

"More Beautiful You" hit the American charts in mid-2009 and reached No. 2 on ''Billboards

Hot Christian Songs Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs ...

chart by the end of August 2009. The song tells young women that they are beautiful the way they are. Diaz said "I hope to get the attention of females and tell them the truth found in God's Word, that there could never be a more beautiful you." His music career was essentially started by leading worship for the youth group of the First Presbyterian Church in Lakeland, FL, playing with Brett Blondell and Vanessa Barbee.

Sound

Jesus Freak Hideout says his style "nearly echoes the sound of

Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single "The Remedy (I Won't W ...

". Christian Manifesto says "Armed with a guitar and a clear message, his music is easily identifiable as that 'safe' genre 'acoustic pop'. But, at least, it is stellar acoustic pop, this time." His sound has been compared to

Dave Barnes David Mckee Barnes (born June 20, 1978) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. He has released eight studio albums, including two Christmas albums. His most recent full-length album, ''Dreaming in Electric ...

Bebo Norman Jeffery Stephen "Bebo" Norman (born May 29, 1973) is a former contemporary Christian musician from Columbus, Georgia, US. His most successful album to date is ''Myself When I Am Real'', which included hit songs "Great Light of the World" and "Fall ...

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

, and

Brandon Heath Brandon Heath Knell (born July 21, 1978) is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer, and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. He has released six studio albums: ''Don't Get Comfortable'' (2006), ''What If We'' (2008), ''Leaving Ede ...

Touring

Diaz has appeared as an opening act for

Building 429 Building 429 is an American Christian rock band from Fayetteville, North Carolina. Their name is derived from a Biblical passage known as Ephesians 4:29, which, in the New International Version of the Bible, reads as follows: "Do not let any un ...

Steven Curtis Chapman Steven Curtis Chapman (born November 21, 1962) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, author, and social activist. Chapman began his career in the late 1980s as a songwriter and performer of conte ...

MercyMe MercyMe is an American contemporary Christian music band founded in Edmond, Oklahoma. The band consists of lead vocalist Bart Millard, percussionist Robby Shaffer, bassist Nathan Cochran and guitarists Michael Scheuchzer and Barry Graul. The b ...

, and

Shane & Shane Shane & Shane is a Texas-based contemporary worship music band known for acoustic praise and worship music. The band consists of Shane Barnard (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Shane Everett (vocals). They are often joined by their drummer and manag ...

. He has performed at several Christian music festivals such as the

Alive Festival Alive Festival, located in Mineral City, Ohio, is an annual Christian music festival. It features many Christian musicians and popular Christian bands, as well as several Christian speakers and worship leaders. The festival began in 1988 and cel ...

and Atlanta Fest. On his official website, he announce that he will be touring with

Matthew West Matthew Joseph West (born April 25, 1977) is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has released five studio albums and is known for his songs " More", "You Are Everything", and " The Motions". He was nomi ...

on the "Story of Your Life Tour".

Personal life

After graduating from high school, Diaz was offered a full

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

to play baseball for Florida State University. Diaz was the fourth of four brothers to get a college baseball scholarship. His brother,

Matt Diaz Matthew Edward Diaz ( ; born March 3, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins. Amate ...

was a professional baseball player in the major leagues, and another one of his brothers played baseball professionally. He started college in the second half of 2002 and played on the team for one year. According to Jesus Freak Hideout, he "felt God calling him to pursue music".

Discography

Full-length albums

* 2003: ''Shades of White'' (Independent) * 2005: ''Everyday God'' (Independent) * 2007: ''They Need Love'' (Independent) * 2009: '' More Beautiful You'' (INO) * 2011: ''Jonny Diaz'' (INO) * 2014: '' Let It Fly'' (Centricity)

EPs

* 2008: ''Come, Let Us Adore'' (Independent) * 2015: '' Everything Is Changing'' * 2018: ''Sweetness & Sorrow'' * 2020: ''Hear That Story''

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Jonny Living people Musicians from Portland, Oregon American performers of Christian music American acoustic guitarists American male guitarists American male singer-songwriters Christian music songwriters 1984 births Singer-songwriters from Oregon Guitarists from Oregon 21st-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male singers Florida State Seminoles baseball players American people of Spanish descent