Everything You Need to Know About ‘American Song Contest’s Riker Lynch
Trae Patton/NBC Reading Time: 3 minutes
Riker Lynch is among the artists continuing on into the semi finals of American Song Contest. Here’s everything you need to know about the history of this beach inspired artist.
Colorado’s Riker Lynch is no stranger to the world of music. He grew up as the eldest of five children and always was involved in music one way or another. As a child, he acted in children’s versions of popular plays, took piano lessons, and competed with his sister Rydel in dance competitions.
During this time, the children formed a music group and put on shows for their family. The Lynch family moved to Los Angeles, California, in 2008 when Riker (16) showed interest in acting professionally. In October 2009, the family met the final band member, Ellington Ratliff, at a local dance studio. This is when the group R5 officially became a band.
Riker Lynch Was A Part of The Popular Sibling Band R5
Riker was the bassist and one of the lead vocalists alongside his siblings, Rocky, Rydel, Ross, as well as their friend Ratliff. During this time, R5 began publishing their YouTube web series, R5 TV. The series included their day to day and career beginning. Around this time they also began creating music videos.
Outside of R5, the Lynch family is known for Ross’s involvement on the Disney Channel series Austin and Ally. Reports also state that Riker is the second cousin of Dancing With the Stars’ siblings Derek Hough and Julianne Hough.
During this time, Riker debuted on television on the hit series Glee. He was introduced in season two as Jeff, part of the Dalton Academy Warblers. He remained as part of this group throughout seasons three and four. On top of the television show, Riker performed as a Warbler in the 2011 Glee Live in Concert tour.
In April 2012, R5 announced that they had signed a record deal with Hollywood Records. They toured for most of that year. Eventually, they released their four single EP, Loud. This EP was an immediate hit, it charted within the top 3 on iTunes within 24 hours of its release. By the end of the year it was considered to be a “chart-topper” on iTunes. This group was insanely popular due to Ross’s Disney Channel show, as well as the 2013 break up of the Jonas Brothers.
During 2015, Riker was one of the celebrities as part of Dancing With the Stars season 20 on ABC. He and his partner, Allison Holker, finished in second place losing to Rumer Willis.
The Split of R5, The Birth of Riker and The Beachcombers
In the history of R5, the has released three albums and several singles. On March 2, 2018 the group announced that the band was going on a temporary hiatus and would return with a new name featuring only Ross and Rocky. Ahead of the announcement R5’s social media was wiped and their handle was changed to the groups new name, The Driver Era.
During the hiatus, Riker returned to his acting career with projects like Colossal Youth, Voyeur, the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. In 2019, Riker began releasing music with Riker and The Beachcombers.
He created his new group, Riker and The Beachcombers, to portray a tropical rock sound. This style is unlike anything by the family band. Reports state that his inspiration for this group directly came from Jimmy Buffett’s laid-back island, no worries type of feeling.
Outside of music, Riker Lynch is married to his longtime girlfriend Savannah Latimer. The couple met at a Halloween party that Rydel Lynch invited Latimer to. They wed on September 20, 2019. Now, Riker Lynch is going into the semi finals on American Song Contest.
