Ryan Stahr Kulchinsky (born January 7, 1978), known professionally as Ryan Star, is an American rock singer-songwriter from

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, currently signed on

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

. His first major label record '' 11:59'', released via

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

in 2010, reached No. 31 on Billboard 200 and No. 10 on Billboard Rock albums chart. Star became known to a wider audience as contestant on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

reality TV show '' Rock Star: Supernova'' in 2006. His songs have featured on several TV shows and promotion. His song "Brand New Day", featured as the main theme to

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

TV series ''

Lie to Me ''Lie to Me'' (stylized as ''Lie to me*'') is an American crime drama television series created by Samuel Baum that aired on Fox from January 21, 2009, to January 31, 2011. In the show, Dr. Cal Lightman ( Tim Roth) and his colleagues in The ...

'', earned him a BMI TV Music Award in May 2009. His first single for Island Records, "Stay Awhile" reached No. 28 on Billboard Adult Pop Songs, and its music video has logged over 1 million views on YouTube to date. "Stay Awhile" was released on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

August 14, 2012.

Early life

Star was born in

Huntington, New York Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town's population was 204,127 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 11 ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, and grew up in nearby Dix Hills. He was 14 years old when he formed his first band called Stage. They released four EPs – "Black" in 1997, "Blue" in 1999, "White" in 2000 and "The Final" in 2004, and in 1995 studio album "Historical Underdosing" and a self-titled album on Maverick Records in 2003. While still in high school, the band played

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

's and the

Mercury Lounge The Mercury Lounge is a live music venue on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Like its brother venue The Bowery Ballroom, The Mercury Lounge is celebrated as an iconic indie venue due to its acoustics, its fostering and even la ...

. When the band parted ways, Star became the solo artist R.Star and released his independently produced debut solo album '' Songs from the Eye of an Elephant'' on Stone Crow Records in 2005, some songs of Stage was re-recorded for the album (Perfect, Perfect Time Of Night (Back Of Your Car), "O", Sink Or Swim).

Television

Star was a contestant on the second season of CBS' reality show '' Rock Star'' where Tommy Lee's band

Supernova A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion ...

was looking for a lead singer to front the supergroup. On the show, Ryan consistently showed his diverse style from melodic and moving piano to rocking, and was nicknamed Ryan "The Darkhorse" Star by show commentator

Dave Navarro David Michael Navarro (born June 7, 1967) is an American guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Between 1993 and 1998, Navarro was the guitarist of Red Hot Chili ...

. He was eventually eliminated, and days later,

Mark Burnett James Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960) is a British television producer who has won thirteen Emmy Awards including ten Primetime, one Sports Emmy Award and two Daytime Emmy Awards. His other accolades include five Producers Guild of America A ...

, the show's producer, set up Ryan and the show's House Band to record a live album, to help Ryan jump start his career. He returned to the show on week 11 with the help of his fans through SMS voting, to perform an encore performance of "Back of Your Car", and was awarded a

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

CR-V The Honda CR-V (A variant model is called Honda Breeze in China By GAC-Honda since 2019，The CR-V is still manufactured by Dongfeng Honda) is a compact crossover SUV manufactured by Japanese automaker Honda since 1995. Initial models of the C ...

. Ryan Star appeared on the

Rachael Ray Rachael Domenica Ray (born August 25, 1968) is an American cook, television personality, businesswoman, and author. She hosted the syndicated daily talk and lifestyle program '' Rachael Ray''. Other programs to her credit include ''30 Minut ...

show and performed "Breathe" and "Start a Fire" (aired October 6, 2010). Ryan Star appeared on the

Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Toni ...

and performed "Stay Awhile" (aired August 14, 2012) Ryan Star and band performed "Stay Awhile" on VH1 Big Morning Buzz (aired September 7, 2012)

Career

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

released ''

Last Train Home EP ''Last Train Home EP'' is an EP by singer/songwriter Ryan Star including four previously unreleased songs and two music videos. It reached No. 42 on Top Heatseekers chart. The title song was released as the first single off Star's major label de ...

'' on June 16, 2009, of four songs to appear on Star's album. The music video for "Breathe", premiered on CNN.com October 21, 2009, highlighted 18 unemployed people in various occupations and the website Ryan Star established breathe4jobs.com to allow potential employers to contact those appearing in the video.

VH-1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Yor ...

interviewed Ryan Star on its VH-1 Top 20 show where he spoke of the positive effects of the video for his song "Breathe." One of the people in the video successfully found a job because of the video. Star's first major label studio album, titled '' 11:59'', was released on August 3, 2010, with a sold-out performance that night at New York City's famed

Irving Plaza Irving Plaza (known through sponsorship as Irving Plaza, powered by Verizon 5G and formerly known as the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza) is a ballroom-style music venue located within the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York ...

. The album debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart, and at No. 31 on Billboard.com. Ryan Star released a free EP to his fans in January 2012, titled

The America EP ''The America EP'' is a four-song EP by American singer-songwriter Ryan Star. It was self-released for free via the internet. The songs "Orphans" and "Somebody's Son" were initially meant to be released on Star's 2010 album '' 11:59''. The EP i ...

via Twitter and Facebook. The songs "Orphans" and "Somebody's Son" were initially meant to be released on '' 11:59''. The EP is dedicated to Star's grandfather who fought in World War II. As Atlantic showed no interest to support his new song, Ryan Star recorded and

self-released Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

a music video for "Stay Awhile" in February 2012, getting attention from

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

Buzzworthy as a breakthrough hit. The video has reached over 1 million views on YouTube as of August 2012. The song also charted on

Hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, ...

and

Adult Pop Songs The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...

charts based on radioplay. Eventually, on August 6, 2012, Star and his management announced via Twitter that he had signed on with a new record label

. Ryan Star said that he made his decision after consulting with

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and Lead vocalist, frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was fo ...

, whose band has been on Island for 30 years. The label's reaction to his song meant a lot to him as well. His single "Stay Awhile" was released via

August 14, 2012. Ryan and his band made their late night television debut on

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...

on the same day. Star will release a 5-song EP ''Animals'', recorded with his touring band in

Rhinebeck, New York Rhinebeck is a village (New York), village in the Rhinebeck (town), New York, town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 2,657 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metr ...

, on August 5, 2013. The single from the EP, "Impossible" is currently streaming exclusively at Billboard.com.

Touring

Ryan has been on the road in support of "Stay Awhile". Recently opening for

Andy Grammer Andrew Charles Grammer (born December 3, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has been signed to Mushroom Music Publishing since March 2022. His debut album, '' Andy Grammer'', was released in 2011 and spawned the s ...

, Ryan has previously toured with Parlotones,

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

Train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

The Script The Script are an Irish Soft rock, soft-rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin. The band currently consists of Danny O'Donoghue (lead vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards), Glen Power (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Benjamin Seargent (bass, backin ...

, Rob Thomas,

Collective Soul Collective Soul is an American rock band originally from Stockbridge, Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the group consists of the brothers Ed (lead vocalist) and Dean Roland (rhythm guitarist), Will Turpin (bassist), Johnny Rabb (drummer), a ...

O.A.R. O.A.R. (short for Of A Revolution) is an American rock band, founded in 1996 in Rockville, Maryland. The band consists of lead vocalist/guitarist Marc Roberge, drummer Chris Culos, guitarist Richard On, bassist Benj Gershman, and saxophonist/g ...

and

David Cook David Cook may refer to: Entertainment * David Cook (game designer) (active since 1980s), American game designer for TSR * David Cook (singer) (born 1982), winner of the seventh season of ''American Idol'' ** ''David Cook'' (album) (released 2008) ...

. Star opened for

on three dates of their Bon Jovi Live tour in March 2011, and for the

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band based in Buffalo, New York, composed of lead vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, bassist and vocalist Robby Takac, as well as several rotating members since its formation in 1986. After starting ...

during the October–November 2011 stretch of their Something for the Rest of Us Tour.

Songwriting

"Last Train Home" was featured on the soundtrack for the movie P.S. I Love You (premiered December 21, 2007)
"This Could Be The Year" was featured on the WWE Survivor Series (aired November 23, 2008)
"Losing Your Memory" was featured on the episode 2x13 "Daddy Issues" of the

Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on the CW on September 10, ...

(aired February 3, 2011)
"Brand New Day" was the theme song for the TV series

(aired January 21, 2009 – January 31, 2011)
Besides his own music, Ryan Star has songwriting credits on other artists' releases, such as: * We are Unbreakable – Hedley * My Oh My – Tristan Prettyman * Screaming – James Durbin * Don't Stop – Electric Touch * Right Here With You –

* A Perfect World –

Takida Takida is a Swedish rock band from Ånge formed in 1999. The band's name comes from the character Gohee Takeda in the Japanese anime series ''Silver Fang''. Takeda's name was mispronounced as "Takida" in the Swedish voiceover of the anime series ...

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Music videos

Other appearances

These songs have been released on albums that were not a studio album released by Star. On December 3, 2010, Ryan Star performed for the 101.9 FM Miracle on State Street in Chicago Illinois, along with Ingrid Michaelson, and Maroon 5.

Songs in other media

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Star, Ryan Living people American rock musicians Singers from New York (state) People from Huntington, New York Rockstar: Supernova contestants Island Records artists People from Dix Hills, New York 1978 births 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers