Michael Wilson Hardy was born to Mike and Sarah Hardy, in Philadelphia, Mississippi.[5] Growing up, Hardy often listened to music with his father, whom he has cited as the source of some of his earliest and fondest memories.[6]
He attended Neshoba Central High School in Philadelphia, Mississippi. It was during that time that he wrote his first song to "impress a girl."[6] Hardy then went on to attend Middle Tennessee State University, where he got a degree in songwriting in the Recording Industry Management program.[7]
After graduating, Hardy took a trip to visit his sister in Nashville, which led to the start of his career. While there, he realized that it was possible to make country music into a career.[6] Hardy met Florida Georgia Line in 2012 at a party where he was introduced to them by a mutual acquaintance.[8] He was eventually reconnected with the group years later.
In October 2018, he released an EP titled This Ole Boy, which he promoted by joining Wallen's If I Know Me Tour.[11] This was followed in 2019 by the single "Rednecker",[12] and a second EP titled Where to Find Me. To support the EP, Hardy joined Florida Georgia Line on their Can't Say I Ain't Country Tour.[13]
Morgan Wallen announced his plans for his 2022 Dangerous tour, which included Hardy for almost all of the nearly 50 stops, including stops in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.[20]
In October 2022, Hardy announced that his album, The Mockingbird & the Crow, would be released on January 20, 2023, via Big Loud Records with guest vocals from fellow country singers Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson and A Day to Remember lead singer Jeremy McKinnon.[21]
Hardy released three songs from The Mockingbird & the Crow on October 9, 2022: "Truck Bed", "Here Lies Country Music", and "The Mockingbird & the Crow". The full album features half country and half rock music. The first half of the album is more traditional country music with all the song titles stylized in lower case. The song "The Mockingbird & the Crow" features a distinct shift halfway through the song to the rock genre, and the rest of the album continues as rock and hard rock, though still using country themes and imagery in the lyrics. The rock song titles are all stylized in uppercase.
On December 1, 2022, Morgan Wallen announced his One Night at a Time World Tour. This tour featured Hardy as direct support for thirteen of the thirty-nine tour dates.[22]
On January 12, 2024, Hardy released his new single, "QUIT!!". That same day, Hardy announced that he would be embarking on the QUIT!! Tour. This tour had fifteen dates. Kip Moore, Travis Denning, Ella Langley and Stephen Wilson Jr. joined him on the road as supporting acts.[23]
In early 2024, Hardy announced a collaborative project titled Hixtape: Vol. 3: Difftape, featuring him and other artists covering songs by Joe Diffie and honoring the fourth anniversary of his death in 2020. Unlike the previous two Hixtape installments, it is not credited solely as a Hardy album.[24]
In March 2024, Hardy and Nickelback filmed an episode of CMT Crossroads. The episode featured Nickelback's "Save Me" and "Animals". It also featured Hardy's "Truck Bed" and "Give Heaven Some Hell". They also preformed a rendition of Hardy's song "Sold Out". They finished the episode with a mashup of both artists' song, "Rockstar".[25]
In April 2024, Hardy announced that in collaboration with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg that he had recorded a version of their 1994 song "Gin and Juice". He also announced that he had filmed a short film with them for the song. This was done to promote Dre and Snoop's Gin & Juice alcoholic beverage.[26]
On May 17, 2024, Hardy released his third single, "Psycho" and announced that his third album, QUIT!! would be released on July 12, 2024, via Big Loud Records and Big Loud Rock. The album features guest appearances from Chad Smith, Knox, and Limp Bizkit'sFred Durst.[27]
Post Malone's country album, F-1 Trillion, featured Hardy on guest vocals for the song "Hide My Gun", which he also co-wrote.[28]
He announced via his Instagram on October 14, 2024 that he would be recording both nights of his tour at Red Rocks Amphitheatre so that he could release a live album in early 2025.[29]
His song Rockstar is in NHL'25 by EA Sports Canada.
Hardy was nominated for two awards in the 2020 Academy of Country Music Awards: Song of the Year, for Blake Shelton's "Gods Country" that Hardy co-wrote, and Songwriter of the Year. Following that, in 2021, he received three nominations: New Male Artist, Songwriter of the Year, and Music Event of the Year, for his song "One Beer" along with Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson. Hardy was nominated for two awards in the 2022 Academy of Country Music Awards, held at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He did not win the award for New Male Artist, losing to Parker McCollum. He was, however, named the Academy of Country Music's 2022 Songwriter of the Year, making that his first ACM Award. During the 2023 ACA Awards, Hardy was nominated for multiple awards, of which he ended up taking home three. His colabration with Lainey Wilson won for "Best Visual Media of the Year" and "Musical Event of the Year". In addition, he ended up winning the Artist-Songwriter of the Year".[32][33]
Personal life
Hardy proposed to his girlfriend Caleigh Ryan in August 2021 at The Lyric in Oxford, Mississippi which is where the couple met in 2017. The two married on October 29, 2022.[34] On October 15, 2024, Ryan announced that the couple are expecting their first child.[35] Hardy revealed on the Barstool Sports' podcast Bussin' With the Boys that his first child would be a girl.[36]
