Ryan Laird (born March 8, 1984) is a Canadian country music singer-songwriter. He received recognition and media attention across The United States and Canada in December 2008 after putting up a billboard on Nashville, Tennessee's music row asking Taylor Swift to produce his album. Early life and education Laird was born in Toronto, Ontario to Laird and Laurie Schneider. He has one younger brother and one younger sister. He grew up on a 100-acre beef farm in Belwood, just outside Fergus, Ontario. He studied jazz guitar at Humber College in Toronto. Musical career Laird moved to Nashville at 18, and a few years later signed a publishing deal with Cherry Lane Music Publishing. He signed his first recording contract with CMT (Canada) and Sony Music Entertainment Canada in 2011 and performed his first showcase as part of the label during the Canadian Country Music Association Awards. In 2008, Laird put up a billboard on Nashville, Tennessee's music row asking Taylor Swift to produce his album. Located at Broadway & 17th Ave, the billboard displayed Laird in a classroom holding a note reading “Hey Taylor - I LOVE your music. Will you produce my album?” On March 28, 2011, Laird released a music video for his single "I'm Your Man" which charted at No. 10 on the CMT Cross Canada Countdown on July 30/2011. The radio single peaked at No. 10 on the Canada Country radio chart in July 2011 and was nominated for a Canadian Radio Music Award. In 2012, Laird was nominated for two Canadian Country Music Awards: CMT Video of the Year and The Rising Star Award. While on the CMT Canada and Sony Music Canada label roster in 2012, the record label released Laird’s second single, “She Was The One”, to Canadian Country radio. The song went on to reach No. 46 on the Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems Canada Country Chart. Later that year, Laird was invited to be a guest artist on the CMT Canada reality TV show, "CMT On The Beach". Along with fellow Canadian recording artists Dean Brody and Deric Ruttan, Laird participated in contest events and performed a concert on the beach in Jamaica for fans. That same year, Laird was a featured artist on CMT’s XM Sessions. In 2012, Laird signed a new record deal with On Ramp Records, an EMI Music Canada distributed label partner. Laird’s third radio single release, “Girl