Warren Zeiders was studying business and playing lacrosse in college when an injury pushed him toward songwriting, and a TikTok cover turned into a Warner Records deal.
From lacrosse to TikTok covers
Warren Zeiders grew up in Pennsylvania, the source of the "717" area code that runs through several of his project titles. He enrolled at Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland, to study business and originally planned to play lacrosse, but an injury derailed that path.
He pivoted to music in 2021, by his own account having never written a song before that year, and started recording and posting covers on TikTok while still in school.
"Ride the Lightning" and a major-label deal
One of the original songs he wrote and posted from Frostburg, "Ride the Lightning," has now passed 500 million views on TikTok. He released his debut album, "Acoustic Covers," in August 2021, then signed to Warner Records in 2022 and re-released "Ride the Lightning" to country radio, where it debuted at No. 30 on Hot Country Songs; it is now Platinum in the US and 3x Platinum in Canada.
A steady run of platinum singles
His country radio debut single, "Pretty Little Poison" (2023), became his first No. 1 in February 2024 and is now 2x Platinum. His third album of the same name arrived that August, followed by a fourth album, "Relapse" (2024), whose title track went 2x Platinum in Canada; he also contributed "The Cards I've Been Dealt" to the "Twisters" movie soundtrack.
He opened arenas for Jelly Roll on the Beautifully Broken Tour in 2024, then headlined his own Relapse Tour in 2025. His first live album, "Live From the 717," arrived January 2026, and his fifth studio album, "No Brakes," is set for release September 25, 2026 on Warner Records.
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