Rayvon Owen

Rayvon Owen (born June 27, 1991) is an American musician from Richmond, Virginia and a finalist in season 14 of American Idol^[2] 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, (which guaranteed 2 people would be eliminated), 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.

Performances and results

• ^Note 1 When Ryan Seacrest announced the results in the particular night, Owen was in the bottom 3, but was the only contestant declared safe as both Adanna Duru and Maddie Walker were eliminated.
• ^Note 2 When Ryan Seacrest announced the results for this particular night, Owen was in the bottom 2, but was declared safe by Twitter vote as Daniel Seavey was eliminated.
• ^Note 3 When Ryan Seacrest announced the results for this particular night, Owen was in the bottom 2, but was declared safe by Twitter vote as Qaasim Middleton was eliminated.
• ^Note 4 When Ryan Seacrest announced the results for this particular night, Owen was in the bottom 2, but was declared safe by Twitter vote as Joey Cook was eliminated.
• ^Note 5 When Ryan Seacrest announced the results for this particular night, Owen was in the bottom 2, but was declared safe by Twitter vote as Quentin Alexander was eliminated.
• ^Note 6 When Ryan Seacrest announced the results for this particular night, Owen was in the bottom 2, but was declared safe as Tyanna Jones was eliminated.

2016-present: New music

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.^[3][4] 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."^[5]

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.^[6] That same day, Owen's interview with Billboard was published in which he came out as gay.^[7] 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.^[8]

Discography

EPs

Singles

• 2016: "Can't Fight It"

Digital singles

References