With an immediately-identifiable soulful voice, a magnetic personality, an empowered performance style and songs and lyrics that speak honesty and truth, Jimmy Charles is an artist on his way to shear greatness. He’s made a national name for himself with
compelling original material and has opened and supported some of country’s biggest acts including Lady A, Montgomery, Luke Bryan
Gentry, Kip Moore, Travis Tritt, Josh Turner, Merle Haggard and more.
The Ocean City, Maryland native headed to Nashville to pursue his music after graduating from
Towson University. “I auditioned for Nashville Star along with 40,000 other people and made it to
the Top 50,” he notes. “Even though I didn’t win, that gave me the confidence to believe that I
really could do this.” Jimmy would go on to earn a unanimous vote ticket to “Hollywood” as a
Season 9 American Idol contestant – and prove once again that he has the talent to make it as an
entertainer with the power to impact countless lives. Jimmy spent many years paying his dues playing up to 12 shows a week in the Honky Tonks of Nashville and touring the country playing bars, festivals and other venues while pushing tip jars.
While the singer/songwriter found early success in 2014 with his first single, “Whatever It
Takes,” picked up nationwide by iHeart radio, it’s the power of “Superman” that solidified his place in the spotlight. Written for ZERO the End of Prostate Cancer to promote awareness with bandmate Goose Gossett and cancer survivor/mentor Phil Shulka, the song’s companion video premiered on
CMT, trending in the #1 spot for over a week, with over 5,000 shares its first day on the site. The
clip also aired on GAC, ZUUS (now known as The Country Network) and Heartland, instantly
putting Jimmy front and center before hundreds of thousands of fans.
Jimmy’s next release, “Bout Summertime” showcased his more adventurous and carefree side
and landed him on the MusicRow Chart. Jimmy made the music video in the US Virgin Islands while headlining a 5000+ Chili cookoff festival on Brewers Bay beach and touring the Island with his full band. “Its the most fun I've ever had in my life” say Charles. The video still plays in the Honky Tonks of Nashville and various bars that show music videos across the world including Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.
Jimmy’s music video release for "Hard way to Go” premiered with CMT and climbed to #1 on The Country Network! The video was paired with an outreach program with National partners American Addiction Centers, Vertava Health and other addiction awareness non-profits to help reach those battling addiction. To date the effort has helped over 160 people commit to the road to recovery and get the treatment they need.
JImmy’s song “They Grow Up Too Fast” released in 2022 quickly became one of the top trending audios in the country for Reels and Stories on social media while obtaining excess of over 8 Million streams and counting.
A national spokesman for ZERO the End of Prostate Cancer since 2014, Jimmy was named Outstanding Young Tennessean (2017) for his work against the disease and his many other philanthropic gestures. He then went on to win the National, Ten Outstanding Young Americans (TOYA) honor in 2019. An accolade given to former Presidents, Scientists, Military Heroes and Elvis himself. Jimmy formed his own non-profit, #IAMNOTALONE, which focuses on the strength and well-being of all cancer survivors making sure they never feel alone. “I’ve learned so much from these survivors and I want to continue to help them anyway that I can,” he says. “Their stories break my heart, but our journey together makes me whole.”
Jimmy’s successes continue today, winning Nashville Industry Music Awards “Male Country Artist of the Year” and “Song of the Year” for “Never Had a Bad Day” and most recently "Male Entertainer of the Year" International Singer Songwriter Awards. Jimmy and his family was recently featured on HGTV’;s “House Hunters” purchasing the home of their dreams and sharing his inspirational journey on National TV. With exciting plans ahead Jimmy Charles is an artist to watch for more big performances and accomplishments.
