‘Catch of the Day’ – Frankie Ballard – “Cigarette” [VIDEO]

Every day, the Catch of the Day strives to bring you the best new music before you hear it anywhere else, and today we feature a former baseball player for Mott Community College in Flint Michigan, and Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. An artist, who in 2008, got the urge to try out for a singing competition, end-up winning it and the rest is country music history.

Frank Robert Ballard IV, better known as Frankie, was born and raised in Battle Creek Michigan. When his dream of major league stardom dimmed after graduating from Western Michigan University, Frankie Ballard decided to pursue his fall-back, country music. He heard of a contest coming to Michigan where the grand prize was the opportunity to open for Kenny Chesney on the Michigan dates of his Poets and Pirates tour in 2008. Not only did Ballard enter, he won it, and got to perform with Chesney, but also other artists on the tour including LeeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan and a young singer who was probably never heard from again named Luke Bryan.

The short time on the tour drew attention to Ballard, who was signed by Reprise records in 2010, releasing his debut single "Tell Me You Get Lonely". The song received great critical reviews and peaked at #33 on the country charts in early 2011. Later that year he made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry, followed it up with a second top-40 single "A Buncha Girls", a self-titled debut album and an opening slot on Lady Antebellum's Own The Night tour.

In 2013, Ballard moved on up the ladder, signing with Warner Brother Records, releasing his third single "Helluva Life". The song single from the album Sunshine & Whiskey, not only became Ballard's first top-10 hit, it also became his first #1 single. He would follow it up with two more #1's from the album, the title track and "Young and Crazy".

On June 10th of this year, Ballard released his follow-up album, the critically acclaimed El Rio. The album has appeared on several "must lists" in its two months of release, with the lead single "It All Started With A Beer" cracking the top-20; the second single from the album is in our spotlight today. Frankie Ballard and "Cigarette" is our Catch of the Day, new music you haven't heard, but you'll want to hear it again.