Ty Herndon

Ty Herndon is an American country music singer and songwriter whose career has spanned more than three decades, marked by commercial success in the 1990s and a later return to the gospel music he first sang as a teenager.

Born Boyd Tyrone Herndon on May 2, 1962, he was raised in Butler, Alabama, where he began performing gospel music in church. His early career included a stint as a member of the Tennessee River Boys, a band that performed at Opryland USA. He gained national attention as a finalist and winner in the male-vocalist category on the television series Star Search. Herndon achieved his first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1995 with "What Mattered Most." He went on to earn three No. 1 Billboard country singles and seventeen Top 10 hits, including songs like "Living in a Moment," "It Must Be Love," and "Dents on a Chevy."

In 2010, Herndon released the gospel album Journey On, which received a Dove Award nomination. That recognition was part of a longer list of honors that includes a Dove Award win, a Grammy nomination, and being named 1993 Texas Entertainer of the Year. In 2014, he became the first major male country artist to publicly come out as gay. He later founded the Foundation For Love & Acceptance to support mental health and LGBTQ+ advocacy. He also recorded "Orphans of God" featuring Kristin Chenoweth.

In 2026, his version of "Testify to Love" reached No. 1 on the Christian and Gospel charts, marking a new chapter in his music ministry.