Chase Rice Artistfacts

September 19, 1985
Born in Ormond Beach, Florida, Rice grew up on a farm in Asheville, North Carolina. He attended AC Reynolds High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
When he was at college, Chase Rice had his heart set on a Martin D18 guitar but didn't have the funds to buy it. He turned to his parents for help, but his father was initially hesitant.

To convince his dad, Chase performed a mini-concert in their living room, singing one song each by Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, and Garth Brooks. It was the only time his father would see him perform live as he passed away when Rice was 22.

Despite his imperfect guitar playing and singing, it was enough to persuade his dad, and he received the guitar he desired. This was a turning point in Rice's career. He now had a high-quality guitar that motivated him to improve, and he began to break out of his shell and sing more confidently.
Rice played college football at the University of North Carolina. He wore the number 44 and aspired to making it to the NFL, but a career-ending injury cut his football dreams short.

After his injury, Rice turned his attention to music, which he had always been passionate about.
Chase Rice joined the Hendrick Motorsports pit crew, where he served as the rear tire carrier for Ryan Newman's Nationwide Series car. He also worked with the Lowe's team on Jimmie Johnson's Sprint Cup Series car and won two championships during his time there. Despite his success in racing, Rice eventually decided to leave the pit crew to pursue music.
Rice appeared on the reality show Survivor: Nicaragua, which aired in 2010. He won $100,000 as the runner-up and used the money to jump-start his music career.
In July 2012, Rice signed with Creative Artists Agency. He was a co-writer of Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise," which logged 24 weeks at #1 on the Country chart in 2012-'13.

"Cruise" brought Rice widespread acclaim in the Nashville songwriting scene. Riding that wave, he released Ready Set Roll, a six-song EP, which reached the Top 20 of the Billboard 200.
According to his Survivor biography, Rice's hobbies are working on cars, riding 4-wheelers, and hunting.
Rice revealed to American Songwriter his "favorite cheat meal is pizza, Oreos and ice cream."

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