Shane Lamar McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer, songwriter, and record producer. He debuted as a singer in 1999 with his self-titled album on

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of M ...

. This project produced three singles on the ''

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 ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

charts, including " Are Your Eyes Still Blue". After a hiatus from music, McAnally returned to songwriting, having his first major success with " Last Call" by

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack (; born August 19, 1966) is an American singer and songwriter. She has charted 23 times on the American ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts; her highest peaking single there is her crossover signature song, " I Hope You Dance" ...

in 2008. From the early 2010s onward, McAnally has worked almost exclusively as a songwriter and producer. Artists with whom he has worked include Old Dominion, Midland, and

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 20 ...

. He has won four Grammy Awards and multiple awards from the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...

(CMA). In 2023, he collaborated with

Brandy Clark Brandy Lynn Clark (born October 9, 1975) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Her songs have been recorded by Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, The Band Perry, Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Currington, Darius Rucker, and Kacey Mu ...

in writing the musical '' Shucked''.

Musical career

Shane Lamar McAnally was born October 12, 1974, in

Mineral Wells, Texas Mineral Wells is a city in Palo Pinto County, Texas, Palo Pinto and Parker County, Texas, Parker Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 14,820 at the 2020 census. The city is named for mineral wells in the area, which were highly ...

. He began performing at local clubs at the age of 12 and appeared on ''

Star Search ''Star Search'' (later known as ''Ed McMahon's Star Search'') is an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./ Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 29 ...

'' when he was 14, singing

Dan Hill Daniel Grafton Hill IV (born 3 June 1954) is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. He had two major international hits with his songs " Sometimes When We Touch" and " Can't We Try", a duet with Vonda Shepard, as well as a number of other chart ...

's "

Sometimes When We Touch "Sometimes When We Touch" is a 1977 ballad by Canadian pop rock artist Dan Hill, from his album '' Longer Fuse''. It was written by Hill and Barry Mann; Hill wrote the lyrics, while Mann wrote the music. The song was Hill's first hit, peaking a ...

." He moved to

Branson, Missouri Branson is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is situated in Taney County, Missouri, Taney County, with a small portion in the west extending into Stone County, Missouri, Stone County. Branson is in the Ozarks, Ozark Mountain ...

at 15, then to Nashville at 19. McAnally and

music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

Rich Herring recorded a demo of a song that McAnally had written. The song, "Just One Touch", earned McAnally a publishing deal as well as a recording contract with

. In 1999, McAnally signed with Curb and began recording his first album for the label as well as his first single. "Say Anything" was released in 1999 as his debut single. The song peaked at No. 41 on the US ''Billboard''

chart. The follow-up single, " Are Your Eyes Still Blue", became his only top 40 single as a singer, peaking at No. 31. McAnally charted a third and final time with "Run Away", which reached No. 50. All three tracks appeared on a self-titled debut album released on Curb in 2000 before he left the label.

Songwriting

In 2001, McAnally moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He composed six songs for the soundtrack of 2007 independent film ''

Shelter A shelter is an architectural structure or natural formation (or a combination of the two) providing protection from the local environment. A shelter can serve as a home or be provided by a residential institution. It can be understood as both ...

'', credited as Shane Mack. Returning to Nashville in late 2007, McAnally began writing songs for other artists, starting with " Last Call", released by

in 2008. From this point onward, McAnally has been primarily known for his songwriting work. He has also worked as a

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, for artists such as

, Old Dominion, and Midland. He has written and produced songs for

Walker Hayes Charles Edgar Walker Hayes (born December 27, 1979) is an American country pop singer and songwriter. He has released four studio albums: ''Reason to Rhyme'' in 2011 on Capitol Records Nashville, and ''Boom (Walker Hayes album), Boom ''(2017), ' ...

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

Sam Hunt Sam Lowry Hunt (born December 8, 1984) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Born in Cedartown, Georgia, Hunt played American football, football in his high school and college years and once attempted to pursue a professional sport ...

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

Jake Owen Joshua Ryan Owen (born August 28, 1981), known professionally as Jake Owen, is an American country music singer. Signed to RCA Nashville in 2006, he released his debut studio album, '' Startin' with Me'', that year. This album produced three ...

Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television personality. Bryan is a five-time "Entertainer of the Year", being awarded by both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Count ...

The Band Perry The Band Perry are an American band composed of siblings Kimberly Perry (lead vocals, guitar), Reid Perry (bass guitar, background vocals), and Neil Perry (mandolin, bouzouki, background vocals). They signed to Republic Nashville in August 2 ...

Lady A Lady A, known until 2020 as Lady Antebellum, is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar ...

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban ( né Urbahn; 26 October 1967) is an Australian and American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Recognised with four Grammy Awards, he has also received 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Jim Reeves Int ...

Thomas Rhett Thomas Rhett Akins Jr. (born March 30, 1990) is an American country music, country singer-songwriter. He is the oldest son of singer Rhett Akins. Rhett has released seven studio albums for Big Machine Records' Valory Music imprint: ''It Goes ...

Brothers Osborne Brothers Osborne is an American country music duo from Deale, Maryland. The duo consists of brothers TJ Osborne (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and John Osborne (lead guitar, background vocals). They signed a recording contract with EMI Records ...

, Old Dominion,

Dierks Bentley Frederick Dierks Bentley (; born November 20, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Bentley moved to Nashville in the late 90s to pursue a career in music, leading up to his releasing the self-funded and independent album Do ...

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country music, country singer. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place ...

Kelsea Ballerini Kelsea Nicole Ballerini (born September 12, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. A five-time Grammy Award nominee, she began having success in the 2010s, being honored with the Academy of Country Music Awards#Special awards, Ge ...

, Midland, and more. The

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

named him Songwriter of the Year in 2014. He also won "Best Country Album" and "Best Country Song" at the 2014

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s for his work on

's '' Same Trailer Different Park''. In 2015, ''

'' named him the Hot Country Songwriter of the Year as well as a ''Billboard'' Power Player. McAnally joined industry veteran Jason Owen in early 2017 to relaunch

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label co-founded in 1958 by Fred Foster. Originally founded in Washington, D.C., the label moved to Nashville in 1960, and experienced success over the next two decades with a number of artists including ...

as co-presidents. McAnally stars as one of the on-screen talent producers in the NBC television reality series ''

Songland ''Songland'' is an American songwriting competition series that aired on NBC from May 28, 2019, to June 15, 2020. The show, produced in cooperation with the Universal Television Alternative Studio, 222 Productions, Live Animals Productions and ...

''. In 2019, McAnally won the ACM Award for Songwriter of the Year and

for Best Country Song for co-writing

's " Space Cowboy." Most recently, he was named as one of Billboard's 2020 Country Power Players and chosen as the recipient of the 2020 Billboard Trailblazer Award, held only by previous winners

and

Florida Georgia Line Florida Georgia Line was an American country music duo founded in 2010 by vocalists and songwriters Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida. Their 2012 debut single " Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was downloaded over ...

. McAnally received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical at the

66th Annual Grammy Awards The 66th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from October 1, 2022, to September 15, 2023, as chosen by the members of The Recording Academy, on February 4, 2024. In its 21st year at the Crypto.com Arena ...

for his work on songs by

Lauren Daigle Lauren Ashley Daigle ( ; born September 9, 1991) is an American contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter. After being signed to the label Centricity Music, she released her debut album, ''How Can It Be (album), How Can It Be,'' in 2015 ...

, Old Dominion,

Alex Newell Alex Eugene Newell (born August 20, 1992) is an American actor and singer. They are known for their role as Unique Adams on the Fox musical series ''Glee'' and Mo on ''Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist''. Newell also starred as Asaka in the Broadwa ...

Niall Horan Niall James Horan ( ; born 13 September 1993) is an Irish singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member of the boy band One Direction, formed in 2010 on the singing competition ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor''. The gr ...

Carly Pearce Carly Pearce (born Carly Cristyne Slusser; April 24, 1990) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her material contains elements of both traditional and contemporary country-pop music. Pearce began performing professionally in her ...

, and

Chris Stapleton Christopher Alvin Stapleton (born April 15, 1978) is an American country singer-songwriter and guitarist. Born in Kentucky, Stapleton moved to Nashville in 1996 to study for an engineering degree from Vanderbilt University, but dropped out to pur ...

, as well as a nomination for Best Musical Theater Album for his work on '' Shucked''.

Personal life

McAnally told Yahoo! Entertainment in 2020 that he struggled with his sexuality for many years while working in Nashville, as he knew that no country music singers were openly gay at the time. At the time, he was dating a woman to whom he later

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

, although he kept his orientation hidden from others and later referred to his girlfriend as a

beard A beard is the hair that grows on the jaw, chin, upper lip, lower lip, cheeks, and neck of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, beards are most commonly seen on pubescent or adult males, though women have been observed with beards ...

. After exiting Curb in 2000, McAnally decided to come out while living in

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writing ...

, a city he knew was more accepting of the gay community. He worked songwriter shows there and chose to return to Nashville due to his enjoyment of music. McAnally received attention as a gay musician in 2013 when he co-wrote and co-produced " Follow Your Arrow" by Kacey Musgraves, a song which features a lyric in support of the gay community. McAnally married his partner of five years, Michael Baum, in September 2012. The couple have two children. In January 2017, the two were legally married by Nashville Mayor

Megan Barry Megan Christine Barry (née Mueller; born September 22, 1963) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the seventh mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County from 2015 until March 6, 2018, when she res ...

.Shane McAnally, Michael McAnally Baum Make Marriage Legal
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Discography and videography

Singles

Music videos

Producing discography

McAnally has produced or co-produced the following works:

Songland

McAnally is also a mentor on NBC's songwriting competition series, ''

''. On ''

'', McAnally works alongside esteemed producers

Ryan Tedder Ryan Benjamin Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, and lead vocalist for the pop rock band OneRepublic, while also serving as a prolific cont ...

and

Ester Dean Esther Renay Dean (born April 15, 1982), known professionally as Ester Dean, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. She rose to prominence as a pop songwriter in the late 2000s and wrote numerous hit songs for singers including R ...

, collaborating with unknown songwriters to craft hit songs. Each "winning" song is recorded by that episode's musical guest and released immediately following the episode. McAnally has described his role on the show as his "wildest dream job that I never knew I wanted." Songs co-written by McAnally as a part of his role on ''

'' are as follows.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Shane McAnally - Official

Shane McAnally - Curb Artist
* Shane McAnally - Overview {{DEFAULTSORT:McAnally, Shane 1974 births American country record producers American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American LGBTQ singer-songwriters Place of birth missing (living people) Gay singer-songwriters Grammy Award winners American gay musicians Living people Singer-songwriters from Texas Curb Records artists LGBTQ record producers LGBTQ people from Texas People from Mineral Wells, Texas Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Country musicians from Texas Country musicians from Tennessee Record producers from Texas 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people Singer-songwriters from Tennessee LGBTQ people from Tennessee