Leon Bridges

Todd Michael "Leon" Bridges (born July 13, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Debuting as a throwback act with 2015's Coming Home, an album reviving 1960s soul music, he has since branched out to other genres reflecting his musical influences like R&B artist Ginuwine and country artist Townes Van Zandt. His second and third albums, Good Thing, wherein Bridges drew from 1980s quiet storm and 1990s neo soul, His 2018 single, "Bet Ain't Worth The Hand", won the Best Traditional R&B Performance at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. Bridges' fourth album, Leon (2024), was a personal album with folk and country influences.

Bridges has also acted in films, portraying revolutionary poet Gil Scott-Heron in the 2018 Neil Armstrong biopic First Man and starring as River in the 2023 drama film The Young Wife.

Early life external media float = left

image1 = A 2011 image of Bridges posing with another student at a college dance concert. Bridges attended Crowley High School, having lived in Crowley. Later, Bridges attended Tarrant County College, where he considered becoming a choreographer. After being convinced by his older brother's friends he met at TCC, he began heading to open mics, where he sang Christian R&B songs he penned, such as his first song titled "Conversion". It was his song "Lisa Sawyer", written about his mother, that first defined his style.

Career 2014–2015: Coming Home

Bridges began writing and performing 1950s and '60s-style soul music that was described by Austin 360 as "a transmission straight from the heart." He began to attract followers, and his break into the music industry has been attributed to meeting guitarist Austin Jenkins and Joshua Block of White Denim. They recorded an album with vintage equipment, using local musicians affiliated with White Denim. Bridges released two demo songs on SoundCloud in late 2014. "Coming Home" received airplay from local radio stations including KKXT. His first official single, "Coming Home", was released on Columbia Records in February 2015. The song continued the success of the demo version and became a Top 10 Most Viral Track on Spotify the same month as its release. Bridges toured with Jenkins and Block until they resumed work with White Denim. He also played at the Sundance Film Festival and played at the SXSW festival in 2015.

His debut album was released in the summer of 2015 and has been referred to as a 2015 "Album to Look Forward to From Texans" by The New York Times. Bridges made the cover of Fort Worth, Texas magazine in May 2015 for his vocal accomplishments and his distinctive retro style. "Coming Home" is featured in an Apple iPhone 6 commercial. Bridges made his first appearance in the UK as an artist in May when he sold out the London Village Underground. He went on to announce four July dates, ending with a gig at Shepherd's Bush Empire on September 28. Coming Home was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

Aside from his own shows, Bridges also supported Pharrell Williams at the Apple Music Festival on September 26. While opening at the intimate Roundhouse, he was able to perform songs such as "River", "Better Man" and "Lisa Sawyer" from his debut album Coming Home. Bridges was the featured musical guest on Saturday Night Live on December 5, 2015. He performed "Smooth Sailin'" with a full backup band and sang "River" with only backup singers and organ, accompanying himself on guitar.

2016–2019: Good Thing and Texas Sun

Bridges also participated in Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's song "Kevin", which was released on the duo's second full-length album.

On February 24, 2016, Bridges performed in Washington, D.C., as part of the series "In Performance at the White House" for President and Michelle Obama. He performed a song by Ray Charles as well as one of his own songs.

On April 8, 2016, Bridges was the live artist featured on BBC Radio London Robert Elms show. Elms interviewed Bridges briefly, and played track 8, "Pull Away", from the Coming Home album. Bridges was set up to play live with Colin O'Brien. Together they performed a live version of "River". The live track was so well received it was played again as "live track of the week" on the Elms Saturday show on April 9, and again on April 11 during a program segment on the best-ever live performances on the Robert Elms show.

In 2017 "River" received further recognition in the first season of the HBO series Big Little Lies. It was later included on the soundtrack for the show.

In 2018, his song "Better Man" was featured in the film Pacific Rim: Uprising. He was the opening act on the South American and Mexican legs of Harry Styles' first solo tour. Bridges' second album Good Thing was released on May 4, 2018. He had a cameo appearance in Damien Chazelle's film First Man, playing singer Gil Scott-Heron. Bridges and Gary Clark Jr. appeared together on the song "Gone Away" from rapper Bun B's album Return of the Trill, with Bridges singing the hook and Clark on lead guitar. On May 18, Bridges performed "Beyond" from the album Good Thing on an episode of the BBC series The Graham Norton Show.

In December 2019, Houston, Texas-based trio Khruangbin announced a collaboration and tour with Leon Bridges and released a single titled "Texas Sun" on December 6, 2019. The collaborative EP of the same name was released in February 2020.

2020–2022: Gold-Diggers Sound and Texas Moon

On June 8, 2020, Bridges and Terrace Martin released a single titled "Sweeter" in response to the murder of George Floyd on May 25.

Bridges performed at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Bridges' third studio album, Gold-Diggers Sound, was released on July 23, 2021.

A second collaborative EP with Khruangbin, titled Texas Moon, was released on February 18, 2022.

2024–present: Leon and Happiness Anytime On August 8, 2024, Bridges released the single "Peaceful Place", simultaneously announcing his fourth studio album, Leon, which was released on October 4, 2024.

On July 17, 2026, Bridges released four singles from his fifth studio album, Happiness Anytime. The album was produced by J Lloyd-Watson and Lydia Kitto of Jungle, and will be released on September 25, 2026.

Musical style Artistry Bridges' music spans different genres, from revivalist 1960s soul music to 1990s neo-soul and contemporary R&B. In 2015, The Wall Street Journal described him as a "throwback to '60s-soul a la Otis Redding and Sam Cooke." Bridges only started listening to Cooke after he started writing music, having grown up listening to modern R&B artists such as Ginuwine, Usher, 112, Dru Hill, and Jodeci.

Bridges performs in vintage clothing; Fort Worth Weekly described him as someone whose "music sounds like he looks."

Released: June 23, 2015 Label: Columbia Format: Digital download, CD, vinyl

RIAA: Platinum ARIA: Gold BPI: Gold MC: Platinum

Released: May 4, 2018 Label: Columbia Format: Digital download, CD, vinyl

RIAA: Gold Label: Columbia Format: Digital download, CD, vinyl

Released: October 4, 2024 Label: Columbia Format: Digital download, CD, vinyl

To be released: September 25, 2026 Label: Columbia Format: Digital download, CD, vinyl

Extended plays Title Details Peak chart positions US GER NZ SCO USRock BEL(FL) NL SCO UK "Coming Home" 2015 — — — — RIAA: Platinum Coming Home "Smooth Sailin'" — — 57 75 — — — — — — RIAA: Gold — — — — — — — 62 group=upper-alpha|"River" did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 77 on the UK Singles Sales Chart. MC: Gold — — — RIAA: Platinum (with Dej Loaf) — — — — — — — — — — "If It Feels Good (Then It Must Be)" — — 8 99 66 183 RIAA: 4× Platinum The End of Everything "Texas Sun"(with Khruangbin) — 20 53 — — — 37 17 — — RIAA: Gold (featuring John Mayer) — — — group=upper-alpha|"Inside Friend" did not enter the Wallonie Ultratop Top 50, but charted as an extra tip on the Wallonie Ultratop Bubbling Under chart. (featuring Terrace Martin) — group=upper-alpha|"Sweeter" did not enter the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, but peaked at number 39 on the Triple A Airplay chart. (with Lucky Daye) — — — group=upper-alpha|"All About You" did not enter the Wallonie Ultratop Top 50, but charted as an extra tip on the Wallonie Ultratop Bubbling Under chart. (with Keite Young)2021 — — — — — — — — — — "Motorbike" — group=upper-alpha|"Motorbike" did not enter the Rock Songs chart, but peaked at number 42 on the Rock Airplay chart. (with Miranda Lambert) 2023 — — — — — — — — — — "Peaceful Place" 2024 — group=upper-alpha|"Peaceful Place" did not enter the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, but peaked at number one on the Triple A Airplay chart. 2025 — — — — — — — — — — "Light the Way" 2026 — group=upper-alpha|"Light the Way" did not enter the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, but peaked at number 20 on the Triple A Airplay chart. USDance USRockAir. NZHot SWE "Across the Room"(Odesza featuring Leon Bridges) 2017 6 30 38 group=upper-alpha|"Across the Room" did not enter the Wallonie Ultratop Top 50, but charted as an extra tip on the Wallonie Ultratop Bubbling Under chart. (The Avalanches featuring Leon Bridges) 2020 — — — — — — — We Will Always Love You "The Hardest Part" (Olivia Dean featuring Leon Bridges) 2023 20 — — — 102 27 75 What Am I Gonna Do On Sundays? "It Was Always You (Siempre Fuiste Tú)" (Carín León featuring Leon Bridges) 2024 — — — — — — — Boca Chueca, Vol. 1 "Elegantly Wasted" (Hermanos Gutiérrez featuring Leon Bridges) 2025 — — 40 — — — — "Burn It Down" (Shaboozey featuring Leon Bridges) 2026 — — — — — — — The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Other charted songs Title Year Peak chart positions Album USAAA USDance ICE NZHot "Steam" 2021 11 — 23 31 34 Gold-Diggers Sound "Why Don't You Touch Me" — — — — 39 "Chocolate Hills"(with Khruangbin) 2022 — — — — 40 Texas Moon "Mariella"(with Khruangbin) — — — — 28 "High Rise" (Diplo featuring Amtrac and Leon Bridges) — 31 — — — Diplo "When a Man Cries" 2024 — — — — 34 Leon "Panther City" — — — — 18 "Ain't Got Nothing on You" — — — — 38 "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Guest appearances Year Title Artist(s) Album 2016 "Katchi" Nick Waterhouse Never Twice "On My Own" Lecrae The Birth of a Nation: The Inspired By Album "Kevin" Macklemore & Ryan Lewis This Unruly Mess I've Made "Present Without a Bow" Kacey Musgraves A Very Kacey Christmas 2018 "Gone Away" Bun B, Gary Clark Jr. Return of the Trill 2019 "God Is Love" Common Let Love 2024 "Clear My Rain" Gunna One of Wun

Music videos Year Title Director(s) 2015 "Coming Home" Chip Tompkins "Better Man" David Nelson "Smooth Sailin'" Vern Moen "River" Miles Jay 2018 "Bad Bad News" Natalie Rae "Beyond" Josh Goleman

Awards and nominations Grammy Awards 2016 Coming Home Best R&B Album 2017 "River" Best Music Video

Good Thing Best R&B Album "Bet Ain't Worth the Hand" Best Traditional R&B Performance