Joel Thomas Crouse (born June 14, 1992) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He released his most recent EP, wasteLAnd on his label, Hum Records in August 2020.[1]

Joel Crouse
Image of Joel Crouse at Countryfest 2013
Image of Joel Crouse at Countryfest 2013
Background information
Birth nameJoel Thomas Crouse
Born (1992-06-14) June 14, 1992 (age 32)
Holland, Massachusetts
GenresCountry
OccupationSinger-songwriter musician
InstrumentVocals/guitar/piano
Websitewww.joelcrouse.com

Early life

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Joel Crouse grew up in Holland, Massachusetts. He attended Tantasqua Regional High School and graduated when he was sixteen.[2]

Career

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While still living in Holland, Crouse founded a local pop rock band called Leaving Stafford.[3] He signed a short-lived demo deal with Epic Records in 2009.[4]

In 2011, Crouse signed with Show Dog-Universal Music, and toured with Toby Keith and The Band Perry.[3] He released his debut single "If You Want Some" in February 2013.[5] It received three-and-a-half stars from Taste of Country reviewer Billy Dukes, who thought that Crouse "sings with more confidence than 20 years provides most artists".[6] The song, which he wrote with Jamie Houston and Luke Laird, debuted at number 59 on the Country Airplay charts in January 2013.[3] His album, Even the River Runs, was released on August 19, 2014, and entered the Billboard Top Country Albums at No. 20.[7] Crouse made his Grand Ole Opry debut on April 18, 2014.[8]

From May to July 2013, he toured with Taylor Swift as a part of her Red Tour as one of her opening acts, playing before the other opening act, Ed Sheeran.[9]

On July 10, 2020, Crouse released his first feature collaboration with German DJ Wave Wave, "Broke".[9]

Crouse released "wasteLAnd" EP on his label, Hum Records, in August 2020. "On My Way" was the lead single co-written by Ed Sheeran and the Official Music Video features Darius Rucker, Ed Sheeran, and Lucy Hale.[9] American Songwriter published an interview with Crouse about the EP, which "chronicles Crouse’s roller-coaster experience with the music business. [Crouse said] 'I had gone from touring with Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran and Darius Rucker,' he says. 'Four years later, my business manager ends up going to jail. I ended up getting in this horrible deal that I had to fight my way out of. And at this time, I’m broke, too. I’m on food stamps, trying to survive. I end up going to write a song with Todd Clark and he was like, ‘What’s going on in your life?’ I told him, ‘Dude, I feel like I’m just surviving.’ That started everything. I just started writing everything that was going on around me.'”[10]

In December 2020, Darius Rucker included Crouse in SPIN Magazine's The 35 Best Lesser-Known Artists of the Last 35 Years, Picked by 35 Well-Known Artists, saying "Joel Crouse has a sense of melody like no one I have been around. I think that comes from having such a unique voice, it’s so original."[11]

Discography

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Title EP Details
wasteLAnd
  • Released: August 7, 2020
  • Label: Hum Records
  • Format: Digital

Albums

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Title Album details Peak chart positions
US Country US US Heat
Even the River Runs[12] 20 183 3

Singles

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Year Single Peak chart
positions
Album
US Country US Country Airplay
2013 "If You Want Some" 50 32 Even the River Runs
2014 "Why God Made Love Songs" - 53
"Don't Tell Me" - -
"-" denotes releases that did not chart

Music Videos

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Year Video Director
2013 "If You Want Some"[13] Chris Hicky
2020 "On My Way"[1] Robbie Norris

References

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  1. ^ a b "How Joel Crouse Went From Opening for Taylor Swift to 'Food Stamps'". Rolling Stone. August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  2. ^ "Country singer Crouse set for Tantasqua". Telegram.com. June 6, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Richard Duckett (February 4, 2013). "Ex-Holland resident Joel Crouse's country single 'If You Want Some' hits 59 on Billboard". Telegram.com.
  4. ^ Kathryn Roy (April 13, 2010). "Holland teen Joel T. Crouse sings backup on soon-to-be released Cyrus-Crow single". The Republican.
  5. ^ "Joel Crouse Releases Debut Single "If You Want Some" February 5, 2013 – Song Review". Countrymusicpride.com. February 4, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  6. ^ Billy Dukes. "Joel Crouse, 'If You Want Some' – Song Review". Tasteofcountry.com. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  7. ^ Matt Bjorke (August 27, 2014). "Country Album Sales Report – August 27, 2014". Roughstock. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2014. Sales figure given here [1]
  8. ^ Markos Papadatos (August 22, 2014). "Joel Crouse celebrates new album with Grand Ole Opry performance". Digital Journal.
  9. ^ a b c Joseph Hudak (August 20, 2020). "How Joel Crouse Went From Opening For Taylor Swift to 'Food Stamps'". Rolling Stone.
  10. ^ Katherine Yeske Taylor (August 7, 2020). "Joel Crouse Discusses Finding His Voice Again, Writing For New EP 'wasteLAnd'". American Songwriter.
  11. ^ SPIN Staff (December 6, 2020). "The 35 Best Lesser-Known Artists of the Last 35 Years, Picked by 35 Well-Known Artists". SPIN Magazine.
  12. ^ Allers, Hannahlee (June 25, 2014). "Joel Crouse Announces Release of Debut Album". The Boot. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  13. ^ "Crouse debuts video". Country Standard Time. June 20, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
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