Josh Ross (born May 27, 1996) is a Canadian country singer and songwriter. He is managed by The Core Entertainment and jointly signed to Universal Music Canada and Universal Music Group Nashville.[1][2] Ross has charted multiple singles, including "On a Different Night", "Trouble", "Ain't Doin' Jack", "Single Again", and "Drunk Right Now (Na Na Na)".[3] In March 2024, he released the extended play Complicated.[4] His debut album Later Tonight is set to release in September 2025.[5]
Ross was born in Waterdown, Ontario, and later moved to nearby Burlington, Ontario for school.[6][7] He spent most of his youth playing sports such as hockey, football, soccer, and motocross.[8] He has extended family in Los Angeles and Maine, and visited the United States often as a child.[9] Ross attended Western University on a football scholarship and was a defensive back.[10] He had hoped to play in the Canadian Football League.[8] A series of injuries coupled with two surgeries derailed his football career in university,[9] and he elected to pursue a career in music as a result.[8] Ross listened to both country and rock music growing up, and cites Steve Earle as one of his biggest musical influences.[8][11]
While working in construction management, Ross entered several music competitions including the Magna Hoedown in Aurora, Ontario, and the Boots and Hearts Emerging Artists Showcase.[8] He began making trips to Nashville, Tennessee in 2018, with the support of fellow Canadian country artist Aaron Goodvin, before making a permanent move there in 2019.[8] Ross released his first radio single "If You Were a Song" as an independent artist that year.[12] He released the five-song extended play Do What You Love in 2020.[8]
In February 2022, Ross released the single "First Taste of Gone", which he co-wrote with Mason Thornley.[13] He then became one of the final eight finalists for SiriusXM's "Top of the Country" contest.[14] Ross subsequently signed a joint recording and management deal with The Core Entertainment and Universal Music Canada in April 2022.[1] With Universal taking over promotion of "First Taste of Gone", the song moved into the top five of the Canada Country chart,[3] and entered the Canadian Hot 100.[15] Ross released the song "On a Different Night" in July 2022,[16][17][18] which would become a radio single later that September.[19] He received a nomination for "Rising Star" at the 2022 Canadian Country Music Awards.[20] Ross performed at the halftime show for the 109th Grey Cup in Regina, Saskatchewan, alongside Tyler Hubbard and Jordan Davis.[21]
In January 2023, Ross released the single "Trouble".[22] He opened for Bailey Zimmerman at the end of his headlining tour in the United States in the same month.[23] In March 2023, Universal Music Group Nashville signed Ross in partnership with Universal Music Canada and The Core.[24][25] Ross subsequently released the song "Red Flags" later that month.[26][27] He joined Lee Brice's "Beer Drinking Opportunity Tour" with Tenille Arts in Canada in the spring of 2023, and signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music shortly thereafter.[28][29][30] He was named "Rising Star" at the 2023 Country Music Association of Ontario Awards.[31] In the summer of 2023, Ross was an opening act for Nickelback on their North American "Get Rollin' Tour" along with Brantley Gilbert.[32] In July 2023, he released the song "Ain't Doin' Jack".[33] That same month, he made his debut performance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.[34] At the 2023 Canadian Country Music Awards in September 2023, Ross was nominated in six total categories, and won the award for "Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year".[35][36] He released the song "Ain't the One" at the end of the month.[37]
In 2024, Ross released the songs "Single Again" and "Truck Girl".[38] Ross also embarked on his debut headlining tour "The Trouble Tour" in Canada in early 2024, and he joined Bailey Zimmerman again for his headlining "Religiously: The Tour" in the United States, Great Britain, and Ireland.[39][38] He released his extended play Complicated on March 29, 2024.[40] He followed that up with the release of the promotional singles "New Me" in May 2024 and "Want This Beer", a duet with Julia Michaels, in July 2024.[41][42] From August to November 2024, Ross embarked on his debut American headlining tour, the "Single Again Tour".[43] He won five awards at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Awards, including "Entertainer of the Year" and "Single of the Year.[44] Ross also won the Jeff Walker Global Country Artist Award at the 58th Annual Country Music Association Awards.[45]
In February 2025, Ross released the single "Leave Me Too".[46] He tied with Tate McRae for the most nominations at the Juno Awards of 2025, and won the Juno Award for Country Album of the Year with Complicated.[47][48] In April 2025, Ross released the single "Hate How You Look".[49] In May 2025, Ross collaborated with hip hop artist Akon on the song "Drunk Right Now (Na Na Na)", a reimagined version of Akon's song "Right Now (Na Na Na)".[50] In July 2025, "Single Again" reached number one on the Mediabase Country chart, making Ross the third Canadian man ever, after Hank Snow and Paul Brandt, to land a number one country radio single in the United States.[51] Ross will release his debut album Later Tonight on September 19, 2025.[5]
In June 2025, Ross apologized on social media after a video of him calling United States "the best country in the world" while performing at the Tailgates 'N Tallboys Festival in Indiana trended online and led to a barrage of criticism from Canadian fans due to the ongoing trade war between the two nations. Weeks later, he performed at Heritage Canada's Canada Day concert in Ottawa.[52]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Later Tonight |
|
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [53] |
US Heat [54] | |||
| Do What You Love | — | — | ||
| Live Sessions |
|
— | — | |
| Complicated |
|
73 | 11 | |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [15] |
CAN Country [3] |
US [58] |
US Country [59] |
US Country Airplay [60] | ||||
| 2019 | "If You Were a Song" | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| 2022 | "First Taste of Gone" | 54 | 5 | — | — | — | ||
| "On a Different Night" | 65 | 4 | — | — | — |
| ||
| 2023 | "Trouble" | 48 | 1 | —[B] | 43 | — | Complicated | |
| "Ain't Doin' Jack" | 69 | 1 | — | — | — |
|
Non-album single | |
| 2024 | "Single Again" | 60 | 1 | 73 | 22 | 2 |
|
Complicated |
| 2025 | "Leave Me Too" | 58 | 5 | — | — | — | Later Tonight | |
| "Drunk Right Now (Na Na Na)" (with Akon) |
67 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Hate How You Look" | 79 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released to that territory. | ||||||||
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | "Tall Boys"[68] | Wales Toney |
| 2022 | "On a Different Night"[69] | |
| 2023 | "Trouble"[70] | |
| "Ain't Doin' Jack"[71] | Unlisted | |
| 2024 | "Want This Beer"[72] | |
| "Single Again"[73] | Jack Owens |
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated Work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Canadian Country Music Association | Rising Star | — | Nominated | [20][74] |
| 2023 | Country Music Association of Ontario | Fans' Choice | — | Nominated | [75] [76] |
| Male Artist of the Year | — | Nominated | |||
| Rising Star | — | Won | |||
| Single of the Year | "First Taste of Gone" | Nominated | |||
| Songwriter of the Year | "On a Different Night" | Nominated | |||
| Canadian Country Music Association | Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year | — | Won | [35] [36] | |
| Fans' Choice | — | Nominated | |||
| Male Artist of the Year | — | Nominated | |||
| Single of the Year | "On a Different Night" | Nominated | |||
| Songwriter(s) of the Year | "Trouble" | Nominated | |||
| Video of the Year" | "Trouble" | Nominated | |||
| 2024 | Juno Awards | Juno Fan Choice | — | Nominated | [77] |
| Country Music Association of Ontario | Fans' Choice | — | Nominated | [78] | |
| Male Artist of the Year | — | Nominated | |||
| Music Video of the Year | "Trouble" | Nominated | |||
| Single of the Year | "Trouble" | Nominated | |||
| Canadian Country Music Association | Album of the Year | Complicated | Nominated | [79] [44] | |
| Entertainer of the Year | — | Won | |||
| Fans' Choice | — | Nominated | |||
| Male Artist of the Year | — | Won | |||
| Single of the Year | "Trouble" | Won | |||
| Top Selling Canadian Album of the Year | Complicated | Won | |||
| Top Selling Canadian Single of the Year | "Trouble" | Won | |||
| Country Music Association | Jeff Walker Global Country Artist Award | — | Won | [45] | |
| 2025 | Juno Awards | Album of the Year | Complicated | Nominated | [80] [48] |
| Artist of the Year | — | Nominated | |||
| Country Album of the Year | Complicated | Won | |||
| Juno Fan Choice | — | Nominated | |||
| Single of the Year | "Single Again" | Nominated | |||
| Country Music Association of Ontario | Compass Award | — | Won | [81] [82] | |
| Fans' Choice | — | Nominated | |||
| Canadian Country Music Association | Entertainer of the Year | — | Pending | [83] | |
| Fans' Choice | — | Pending | |||
| Male Artist of the Year | — | Pending | |||
| Musical Collaboration of the Year | "Want This Beer" (with Julia Michaels) | Pending | |||
| Single of the Year | "Single Again" | Pending | |||
| Video of the Year | "Single Again" | Pending |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
