Rayvon Owen


Rayvon Owen is an American musician from Richmond, Virginia and a finalist in season 14 of American Idol finishing 4th overall. He released his EP Cycles August 26, 2014 prior to the contest, and his official single "Can't Fight It" in February 2016.

Early life

Rayvon Owen was born in Richmond, Virginia living with his single mother and one sister. He graduated from the Henrico High School Center for the Arts and Belmont University and worked as a singer and vocal coach.

Music career

2014: Early career

Rayvon has his own music video, "Sweatshirt" which premiered in November 2014. He also has a debut EP Cycles.

2015: American Idol

He auditioned to series 14 of American Idol with "Wide Awake" by Katy Perry and was chosen for Top 24 and eventually Top 12. After being in the bottom 3 in the top 11,, Rayvon was deemed safe. Rayvon was in the bottom 2 for five consecutive weeks, but emerged victorious, thanks to Season 14's Idol Twitter Fan Save, where the bottom 2 perform and AI fans vote on the spot via Twitter for who should advance. Rayvon was the only recipient of the fan save in the entire season earning him the nicknames "Twitter King" and "Comeback Kid". Rayvon finished 4th place on Season 14 of American Idol and was included on the Idols Live Tour. He was in the Bottom 2 or 3 more times than any contestant in Idol history.

Performances and results

EpisodeThemeSong choiceOriginal artistOrderResult
AuditionAuditioner's Choice"Wide Awake"Katy PerryN/AAdvanced
Hollywood Round, Part 1First Solo"Ordinary People"John LegendN/AAdvanced
Hollywood Round, Part 2Group Performance"Since U Been Gone"Kelly ClarksonN/AAdvanced
House of Blues Second Solo"Lay Me Down"Sam SmithN/AAdvanced
Top 24 Personal Choice"Jealous"Nick Jonas12Advanced
Top 16Motown"My Girl"The Temptations7Safe
Top 12Personal Choice"Wide Awake"Katy Perry8Safe
Top 11Party Songs"Burn"Ellie Goulding6Safe
Top 11Movie Night"Staying Alive"Bee Gees11Bottom 3
Top 9Songs from the 1980s"Everybody Wants to Rule the World"Tears for Fears8Bottom 2
Top 8Evening with Kelly Clarkson"Since U Been Gone"Kelly Clarkson6Bottom 2
Top 7Billboard Hot 100"Set Fire to the Rain"Adele7Bottom 2
Top 6American Classics"Long Train Runnin'"The Doobie Brothers6Bottom 2
Top 6American Classics"Always on My Mind"Gwen McCrae and Brenda Lee12Bottom 2
Top 5Arena Anthems"I'm Not the Only One"Sam Smith5Bottom 2
Top 5Arena Anthems"Go Your Own Way"Fleetwood Mac10Bottom 2
Top 4Judges Hometown"Need You Now"Lady Antebellum4Eliminated
Top 4Soul"Believe"Justin Bieber7Eliminated

On the Valentine's Day weekend of 2016, Rayvon debuted a new single, "Can't Fight It" written with Mylen, Nate Merchant, and Isaiah Tejada. The accompanying music video acts as his official "coming out" as gay, sharing a kiss at the end with LGBT activist Shane Bitney Crone. Rayvon told Billboard: "You’d be surprised at the amount of times I tried to pray the gay away from me or tried to tell God to take this away from me. No kid should have to do what I did and pray to not be who they are. That’s why I think it’s important even in 2016 to say this."
In January 2018, Owen was picked as Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month. He was featured on NBC's Today show hosted by Hoda Kotb and Meghan Trainor, the co-host for that episode broadcast nationally where Owen performed live his single "Gold".

Personal life

On February 14, 2016, Owen premiered a music video for his song "Can't Fight It", at the end of which he kisses a man. That same day, Owen's interview with Billboard was published in which he came out as gay. One day later Shane Bitney Crone, who is featured as the romantic lead in the music video, announced that he and Owen are a couple. On March 3, 2018, they announced they would be getting married, after Crone proposed to Owen on stage at a Demi Lovato concert.

Discography

EPs

AlbumDetailsTrack listing
Cycles

  • Released: August 26, 2014
  • Writers: Rayvon Owen, Cameron Bedell, David Smith,
Ryan Key, Stevie Aiello, Ross Bridgeman, Seth Jones
  • Producers: Seth Jones, Ross Bridgeman
  1. "Rescue"
  2. "Can't Pretend"
  3. "Air"
  4. "Sweatshirt"

Singles

  • 2016: "Can't Fight It"
  • 2018: "Gold"
  • 2020: "Space Between"
;Digital singles
YearSong
2015"Everybody Wants To Rule The World"
2015"Since U Been Gone"
2015"Set Fire to the Rain