Michael Ray occupies that sweet spot in modern country that draws heavily on traditional songwriting while sculpting arrangements tailor-made for 21st-century radio. Born in 1988 in Florida, Ray came by his enthusiasm for icons like Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings honestly: He was raised on country classics by his grandfather Amos, a musician himself. After years of performing alongside Amos, Ray decided against Nashville and instead toured relentlessly around southern Florida after graduating high school. He dropped his self-titled debut in 2010 and then won The Next: Fame Is at Your Doorstep, a CW talent show, under the mentorship of Big & Rich’s John Rich. In 2015, he rereleased the debut with Atlantic Nashville. Songs like “Think a Little Less,” balancing sentimental romanticism with a lustful wink, or the raucous, arena-thumping “Kiss You In the Morning” proved Ray could go toe-to-toe with the big-timers in Music City, and he made his Grand Ole Opry debut the same year. His 2018 sophomore album, Amos, named for the grandfather that helped make him an artist, built on that promise, plumbing darker emotional depths with songs like “Her World or Mine,” and getting loose with a poppier sound on “One That Got Away,” showing he can tastefully navigate multiple facets of country.