Ryan Christopher Shaw (born December 25, 1980) is an American soul musician from Georgia. He is part of the soul-revival movement in music and has been nominated for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

three times, in the category of Best Traditional R&B Performance.

Biography

Shaw is from

Decatur, Georgia Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in ...

. He learned to sing at the Free Church of God in Christ of Atlanta, Georgia and began singing harmony in a church choir at age five. In a 2007 interview, Shaw stated "My church was very traditional, and for a long time the only songs I learned were gospel songs." Shaw won a spot in a gospel musical at Georgia State University, and in 1998 he dropped out of college to take part in Tyler Perry's play ''

I Know I've Been Changed ''I Know I've Been Changed'' was the first successful play from playwright Tyler Perry. The play focuses on issues including child abuse and rape and how they are overcome by a strong belief in God. Soul musician Ryan Shaw got his start perform ...

''. At the end of the play's run he began doing

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

covers in New York, joining the group Fabulous Soul Shakers in 2004. He recorded a demo in 2006, won the ear of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, and was signed to said label. The album, ''This is Ryan Shaw'', mixes new material with covers of songs by Wilson Pickett, Bobby Womack, and

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a mas ...

. He was the opening act for the Van Halen tour 07-08. At the end of 2009, Shaw reached some fame in the Netherlands with his single ''It Gets Better'', which peaked at number 2 on the single top 100 charts. On May 15, 2012 Ryan Shaw released ''Real Love'' on Dynotone Records. In 2013, Shaw made his debut on Broadway, playing

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

in Motown: The Musical. In June 2015, Shaw advanced from the auditions to Judge Cuts Week on

season 10 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

of ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

''. However, in July 2015, he was eliminated from the competition during Judge Cuts Week 2.

Awards and nominations

Grammy Award

, - , 2008 , "I Am Your Man" , Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance , , - , 2011 , "In Between" , Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance , , - , 2014 , "Yesterday" , Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance ,

Discography

*''This Is Ryan Shaw'' (2007) #22

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 advertise ...

Heatseekers *''It Gets Better'' (2010) *''Real Love'' (2012) *''Imagining Marvin'' (2020)

References

* Ryan Shawat Allmusic.com

External links

Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Ryan Singers from Georgia (U.S. state) America's Got Talent contestants American neo soul singers American soul musicians Living people 1975 births 21st-century American singers