Early life, family, educational background
American country singer, songwriter and guitarist Matthew Neal ‘Matt’ Stell was born on 19 April 1984 – making him an Aries – in Clinton, Arkansas, but was raised in Center Ridge by his mother Lisa and father Todd Stell. He has a brother whose name is unknown but is married to Kaitlyn Stell, making her Matt’s sister-in-law. From 2002 to 2006, Matt played basketball for the Amateur Athletic Union summer league, then after matriculating from high school, he attended Drury University on an athletic scholarship and played basketball there as well. He then enrolled at the University of Arkansas to study for a master’s degree in communications and while there worked construction and farming jobs to support himself.
Matt went to Haiti for a medical mission trip, where he became inspired to join a post-baccalaureate pre-medical program and where he completed pre-med coursework. His application was clearly impressive, as he was accepted to the part-time pre-med program at Harvard University’s Extension School. Matt was meant to start studying in 2014, but Wide Open Music offered him a publishing deal at the same time, and he chose music over study.
Family’s personal life
In February 2020, Kaitlyn and Matt’s brother adopted a daughter whom they named LJ.
Career
Matt was the lead singer of The Crashers from the late 2000s to the early 2010s, and during that time he also released three solo albums, “The Sound & the Story” on 3 March 2009, “Vestibule Blues” on 11 May 2011, and “A River Through It” on 19 March 2013, the latter two by 124 Records, but the first was independent. As an independent artist, Matt played gigs on his own, and even opened for famous country singers including Eric Church and Luke Bryan. He has written songs for the John D. Hale Band, Casey Donahew, and Bart Crow.
On 16 March 2018, he released the EP, “Last of the Best,” and the single, “Prayed for You”, co-written with Ash Bowers and Allison Veltz – “Rolling Stone” kindly named the single one of the ‘10 Best Country Songs to Hear Now.’ In an interview with American Songwriter, Matt shared, ‘I knew when we finished writing that song it was a good song. I had no idea it would change my life. ‘Prayed For You’ turned me into a writer/artist instead of an artist/writer.’ He also shared the story behind the line, ‘More than I can fathom/ I didn’t know you from Adam/ But I prayed for you,’ which was written by Allison; when they met up for their writing session, she told Matt and Ash that just a week earlier she met a man who eventually became her husband and was the inspiration behind the lyrics. Both Matt and Ash felt a personal attachment to the lyrics as Matt was dating someone and Ash is happily married, ‘We tried to tell an honest story about a guy who’s way luckier than he deserves in a lot of ways,’ Matt said, ‘The next thing we did was to sketch out a character who is a lot like me in that respect.’
Matt doesn’t typically write love songs, as he gravitates more towards heavier and darker themes. The former CEO and president of Jive Records, Barry Weiss enjoyed the song and saw Matt’s potential, so in July 2018 he signed Matt to his label, RECORDS. The president of Good Company Entertainment, Keith Gale joined the deal to help promote the single on radio stations. That same year, Matt was announced as a CMT Discovery Artist.
“Prayed for You” joined Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in February 2019, and peaked at number 36. In March 2019, the single joined Billboard’s Country Airplay chart on which it peaked at number 54. It has surpassed 15 million plays on Spotify alone, and more than 44 million in total. The song’s official music video premiered on 9 July 2018 and starred reality television star, Savannah Chrisley, with her fiancé Nic Kerdiles, who is a famous hockey player. Within the first ten months of the video’s release on YouTube, it reached over 4.3 million views.
On 27 April 2019, he made his Grand Ole Opry debut, and Song Music Nashville and Arista Nashville joined his team to help promote his music. On 12 June that year he returned to the Grand Ole Opry with the Del McCoury Band and Old Crow Medicine Show. “Taste of Country” named him their Artist to Watch in May 2019, and his next EP, “Everywhere But On,” was released on 24 May 2019 with seven original songs, and including a collaboration with Jimmie Allen – the music video for the title track was published a week before the EP’s release. On 16 September 2019, “Prayed for You” received RIAA Gold certification and on 8 October 2021 he released, “Boyfriend Season,” which is set to be included on his upcoming 2022 album ,which will also comprise songs from his 2020 EP, “Better Than That.”
Matt’s stylist is Amanda O’Connor who regularly dresses him up in ML Leddy, PRPS, Purple, Rag & Bone, Nudie, Ksubi, Frame, Jordan sneakers, and leather jackets from All Saints – he’s growing collections of the latter two.
Personal life
Matt moved to Nashville in 2014. He’s religious but does not like to preach – ‘I grew up in that world, but I’m very humble in that aspect. I don’t ever want anyone to think that I know what I’m talking about when it comes to that world. I respect everyone’s journey whether it looks like mine or not.’ In July 2021, WWD interviewed Matt about his future plans – ‘It really helps me to set goals that are executable, that I have complete control over. Like writing x amount of songs in a certain time period. In a perfect world, I want to play music I care about to people it matters to, and I want to do that on as big a scale as possible.’
He dated Sophie LeBlanc for six years before proposing to her in December 2018 at Jackson Square, New Orleans, and she accepted. Matt posted photos of himself and his fiancé on 16 December, and the couple was meant to marry in December the following year, but they split due to Matt’s busy schedule. Matt shared, ‘There are no hard feelings. It’s opposite, you know. We both want each other to be happy, and right now that means that it’s not together.’ He then reportedly began dating fellow American country singer Rachel Bradshaw, and she seemed to confirm the news on 30 September 2021 when she admitted to having a boyfriend, but didn’t share who he is. However, it seems that Matt is currently single.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CkDxpJMrFz2/
Hobbies, favorite things and interesting facts
- His lucky number is 9.
- He enjoys playing golf, going outside, playing and watching sports, and reading.
- Matt likes spending time with his friends from Arkansas; they even maintain a group text chat.
- While in college, he taught himself to sing and play guitar.
- His biggest inspirations are Bonnie Raitt and Randy Travis.
Appearance
Matt has brown hair and brown eyes, stands at 6ft 7ins (200.5cm) tall, weighs about 200lbs (92kgs), has a slim body type, and a cleft chin.
Net worth and salary
As of September 2022, Matt’s net worth is estimated at over $5 million, thanks to his successful music career, especially his singing and song-writing.
