Tyler Hilton
Encyclopedia
Tyler James Hilton is an American singer-songwriter
and actor
. Hilton began his professional career in music in 2000. Rolling Stone Magazine
compared him to his contemporary, Howie Day
, while others have compared Hilton to Elton John
, both vocally and instrumentally. Since the release of his debut album, Hilton has ventured into acting, guest starring on The WB's One Tree Hill
as the talented but somewhat arrogant Chris Keller, and playing the role of Elvis Presley
in the Johnny Cash
biopic Walk the Line
. He also appeared in Taylor Swift
's music video "Teardrops on My Guitar
".
, the son of Kristy (née Herren) and Robert George Hilton. Raised in Bermuda Dunes, California
, Hilton grew up around music and began teaching himself Elvis Presley
songs at an early age. After a brief stint in Northern California, his family moved back to the Palm Springs area, where he wrote his first song about a girl named Rhian with whom he attended school. Hilton's family made another move back to Coachella Valley
for high school, where, at La Quinta High School
, he started a band with some of his classmates. The band did not go anywhere, so Hilton began to enter open mic nights and went to local coffee shops to play his own music. Hilton lives in LA and is working on his upcoming album.
concert tickets and called into the Mark & Brian radio show on KLOS in Los Angeles at the age of 16. While on the phone, he sang an a cappella
version of Jonny Lang
’s song "Breakin' Me". Mark & Brian were so impressed with Hilton's performance that they gave him a spot at the station's Christmas
concert. Word of Hilton caught the ear of Maverick Records
, who signed him up with a record deal shortly after. Work started on Hilton's debut major label record, The Tracks of Tyler Hilton, and the songs were recorded quickly. The album was released on September 28, 2004. After the release of his album, Hilton joined the likes of Avril Lavigne
, Jet
, 50 Cent
, and Josh Groban
as an artist chosen by AOL
Breaker for his star potential.
, Hilton went on to appear in the Academy Award-winning film Walk the Line
as a young version of Elvis Presley
. For the part, Hilton was given the opportunity to cover two Elvis songs for the film, "Milk Cow Blues" and "That's All Right". Both songs are featured on the film's award-winning soundtrack
.
Hilton appeared in the 2008 film Charlie Bartlett
and played the love interest in country music artist Taylor Swift
's music video for her song "Teardrops on My Guitar
".
Hilton also performed in a Season 4 episode of My Super Sweet Sixteen (Amberly) during a young girl's sweet 16 party.
He also appears on Vh1
's Single Ladies
.
Hilton will be returning to One Tree Hill
for the 9th and Final Season in 2012.
soundtrack albums, some with formerly unreleased material that cannot be found anywhere else. Most notably, the cover of the Ryan Adams
song "When the Stars Go Blue", which was arranged into a duet with One Tree Hill star Bethany Joy Galeotti
for the show; also, a cover of "Missing You" by John Waite
and the original track "You'll Ask For Me".
Hilton released a self-titled EP on April 6, 2004. All four songs were included on his first album The Tracks of Tyler Hilton released on September 28, 2004.
His EP, Better on Beachwood, is available on iTunes
and features three songs.
His latest EP, Ladies & Gentlemen, is available on iTunes
and features five songs.
On June 27, 2011, Tyler Hilton's song "Faithful" was released on the soundtrack "Larry Crowne".
The Tracks Of (2004)
Ladies & Gentlemen (April 20, 2010)
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. Hilton began his professional career in music in 2000. Rolling Stone Magazine
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
compared him to his contemporary, Howie Day
Howie Day
Howard Kern "Howie" Day is an American singer-songwriter. Beginning his career as a solo artist in the late 1990s, Day became known for his extensive touring and in-concert use of samplers and effects pedals in order to accompany himself...
, while others have compared Hilton to Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, both vocally and instrumentally. Since the release of his debut album, Hilton has ventured into acting, guest starring on The WB's One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
as the talented but somewhat arrogant Chris Keller, and playing the role of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
in the Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
biopic Walk the Line
Walk the Line
Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
. He also appeared in Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
's music video "Teardrops on My Guitar
Teardrops on My Guitar
"Teardrops on My Guitar" is a song by American country pop singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was co-written by Swift, alongside Liz Rose and produced by Nathan Chapman with Swift's aid. "Teardrops on My Guitar" was released on February 24, 2007 by Big Machine Records, as the second single...
".
Early years and personal life
Hilton was born in Palm Springs, CaliforniaPalm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, the son of Kristy (née Herren) and Robert George Hilton. Raised in Bermuda Dunes, California
Bermuda Dunes, California
Bermuda Dunes is a census-designated place in Riverside County, California. The population was 7,282 at the 2010 census, up from 6,229 at the 2000 census. Bermuda Dunes is located near Indio and east of Palm Springs....
, Hilton grew up around music and began teaching himself Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
songs at an early age. After a brief stint in Northern California, his family moved back to the Palm Springs area, where he wrote his first song about a girl named Rhian with whom he attended school. Hilton's family made another move back to Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
for high school, where, at La Quinta High School
La Quinta High School (La Quinta, California)
La Quinta High School is one of six public high schools, grades 9-12, in the Desert Sands Unified School District. It is located in the La Quinta, California. The school was a California Distinguished Schools award winner in 1999, 2003 and 2011.-History:...
, he started a band with some of his classmates. The band did not go anywhere, so Hilton began to enter open mic nights and went to local coffee shops to play his own music. Hilton lives in LA and is working on his upcoming album.
Establishment
Hilton heard a local radio station was giving away Jonny LangJonny Lang
Jonny Lang is a Grammy award-winning American blues, gospel, and rock singer, songwriter and recording artist. Lang's music is notable for both his unusual voice, which has been compared to that of a forty-year-old blues veteran, and for his guitar solos...
concert tickets and called into the Mark & Brian radio show on KLOS in Los Angeles at the age of 16. While on the phone, he sang an a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
version of Jonny Lang
Jonny Lang
Jonny Lang is a Grammy award-winning American blues, gospel, and rock singer, songwriter and recording artist. Lang's music is notable for both his unusual voice, which has been compared to that of a forty-year-old blues veteran, and for his guitar solos...
’s song "Breakin' Me". Mark & Brian were so impressed with Hilton's performance that they gave him a spot at the station's Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
concert. Word of Hilton caught the ear of Maverick Records
Maverick Records
Maverick Recording Company is an American record label owned and operated by Warner Music Group, and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:...
, who signed him up with a record deal shortly after. Work started on Hilton's debut major label record, The Tracks of Tyler Hilton, and the songs were recorded quickly. The album was released on September 28, 2004. After the release of his album, Hilton joined the likes of Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
, Jet
Jet (band)
Jet are an Australian rock band formed in 2001 while attending St Bede's College Mentone in Melbourne, . The band consists of lead guitarist Cameron Muncey, bassist Mark Wilson, and brothers Nic and Chris Cester on vocals/rhythm guitar and drums respectively...
, 50 Cent
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
, and Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
as an artist chosen by AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
Breaker for his star potential.
Acting
After his stint as Chris Keller on One Tree HillOne Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
, Hilton went on to appear in the Academy Award-winning film Walk the Line
Walk the Line
Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
as a young version of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
. For the part, Hilton was given the opportunity to cover two Elvis songs for the film, "Milk Cow Blues" and "That's All Right". Both songs are featured on the film's award-winning soundtrack
Walk the Line (soundtrack)
Walk the Line is a Grammy Award-winning soundtrack from the movie Walk the Line released November 15, 2005 by Wind-Up Records. There are nine songs performed by Joaquin Phoenix, four songs by Reese Witherspoon, one song by Waylon Payne, one song by Johnathan Rice, two songs by Tyler Hilton, and...
.
Hilton appeared in the 2008 film Charlie Bartlett
Charlie Bartlett
Charlie Bartlett is a 2008 comedy-drama film directed by Jon Poll. The screenplay by Gustin Nash focuses on a teenager who begins to dispense therapeutic advice and prescription drugs to the student body at his new high school in order to become popular....
and played the love interest in country music artist Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
's music video for her song "Teardrops on My Guitar
Teardrops on My Guitar
"Teardrops on My Guitar" is a song by American country pop singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was co-written by Swift, alongside Liz Rose and produced by Nathan Chapman with Swift's aid. "Teardrops on My Guitar" was released on February 24, 2007 by Big Machine Records, as the second single...
".
Hilton also performed in a Season 4 episode of My Super Sweet Sixteen (Amberly) during a young girl's sweet 16 party.
He also appears on Vh1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's Single Ladies
Single Ladies (TV series)
Single Ladies is a television series on the VH1 network in the U.S. created by Stacy A. Littlejohn and produced by Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit Entertainment for the MTV network-owned cable channel. The show chronicles three friends, Val, Keisha and April, and their relationships...
.
Hilton will be returning to One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
for the 9th and Final Season in 2012.
Music
In addition to his own albums, Hilton has also appeared on each of the three different One Tree HillOne Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
soundtrack albums, some with formerly unreleased material that cannot be found anywhere else. Most notably, the cover of the Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000...
song "When the Stars Go Blue", which was arranged into a duet with One Tree Hill star Bethany Joy Galeotti
Bethany Joy Galeotti
Bethany Joy Galeotti is an American actress, musician, director, writer, and producer.Galeotti is best known for her on screen portrayals of Michelle Bauer Santos on Guiding Light and Haley James Scott on One Tree Hill...
for the show; also, a cover of "Missing You" by John Waite
John Waite
John Charles Waite is an English rock singer and musician. He was lead vocalist for The Babys and Bad English. As a solo artist, he scored several international hits, including 1984's "Missing You", a top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, reaching #1 in the...
and the original track "You'll Ask For Me".
Hilton released a self-titled EP on April 6, 2004. All four songs were included on his first album The Tracks of Tyler Hilton released on September 28, 2004.
His EP, Better on Beachwood, is available on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and features three songs.
His latest EP, Ladies & Gentlemen, is available on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and features five songs.
On June 27, 2011, Tyler Hilton's song "Faithful" was released on the soundtrack "Larry Crowne".
Filmography
- Single LadiesSingle Ladies (TV series)Single Ladies is a television series on the VH1 network in the U.S. created by Stacy A. Littlejohn and produced by Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit Entertainment for the MTV network-owned cable channel. The show chronicles three friends, Val, Keisha and April, and their relationships...
(2011) - One Tree HillOne Tree Hill (TV series)One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
as Chris Keller 16+ episodes (2004–2007; 2012) - Charlie BartlettCharlie BartlettCharlie Bartlett is a 2008 comedy-drama film directed by Jon Poll. The screenplay by Gustin Nash focuses on a teenager who begins to dispense therapeutic advice and prescription drugs to the student body at his new high school in order to become popular....
as Murphy Bivens (2007) - Walk the LineWalk the LineWalk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
as Elvis Presley (2005) - American DreamsAmerican DreamsAmerican Dreams is an American television comedy-drama program broadcast on the NBC television network, produced by Once A Frog and Dick Clark Productions in association with Universal Network Television and NBC Studios...
as Folk Singer 1 episode (2004)
Albums
Tyler Hilton (2000)- "Not Getting Your Name" 5:01
- "Nora Marie" 6:15
- "I Believe We Can Do It" 4:49
- "Someone Like You" 4:05
- "Up Late Again" 2:08
- "It's Always the Same" 5:12
- "Shy Girl" 4:29
- "It's Only Love" 2:37
- "If I'm Not Right" 3:52
- "New York Can Wait" 3:07
- "Last Promise" 3:53
- "Don't Blame Me" 3:39
- "Meant Something to Me" 2:50
The Tracks Of (2004)
- When It Comes 3:45
- The Letter Song 3:28
- Glad 3:32
- Rolling Home 4:24
- Pink and Black 3:31
- Our Time 3:45
- Kiss On 3:22
- Slide 3:40
- You, My Love 6:19
- Insomnia 4:21
- Picture Perfect 3:07
EPs
Better on Beachwood (2009)- "Tore the Line" 3:31
- "Don't Forget All Your Clothes" 5:04
- "I Believe in You (Acoustic)" 4:09
Ladies & Gentlemen (April 20, 2010)
- "Sunset Blvd" 3:44
- "I Believe in You" 4:12
- "This World Will Turn Your Way" 4:06
- "Keep On" 3:21
- "June" 3:33
Music videos
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "When It Comes" | Nick Spanos |
| Adam Pollina | ||
| Charles Mehling | ||
| 2005 | "How Love Should Be" | Tyler Hilton |
| 2007 | "You'll Ask for Me" | Brad Belanger |
| 2010 | "This World Will Turn Your Way" |
External links
- Tyler Hilton's Official Site
- Tyler Hilton collection at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
's live music archive