The son of a preacher and the youngest of five children, Tyrone Wells was only allowed to listen to gospel music growing up in Spokane, WA, although he was eventually also exposed to artists like Stevie Wonder and James Taylor. As a teenager he moved to Fullerton, CA, to attend college, and soon joined the Christian rock band Skypark as the lead singer. After releasing a few records with the group, including two on Epic, Wells decided to leave Skypark and work on his solo material. He began performing at a local Fullerton coffeehouse, McClain's, on a weekly basis, and soon was selling his self-released albums at these shows. In 2003, after signing to True America, Wells issued Snapshot, and in 2005 Close: Live at McClain's came out. That same year the singer/songwriter set about on working on his next full-length, Hold On, revisiting songs he had been writing during the past two years. Wells' big break came in 2006 after performing at the National Association of Campus Activities Convention in Boston, when he was approached by several major labels. Eventually he chose Universal Republic, which sent Hold On to stores in early 2007, following it with Remain in 2009. ~ Marisa Brown