Riker Lynch: “Some of my earliest memories are dancing around to Bruce Springsteen’s Human Touch.”

Welcome back to another American Song Contest interview, this time with Colorado singer Riker Lynch! Learn all about his upbringing in music, what movie soundtrack he would love to hear his music on, and more below!

Welcome to ESC United Riker, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to interview with us! Why don’t you introduce yourself to our readers? Thank you for taking time to chat with me! 

Happy to be here. I am Riker Lynch. I’m an entertainer of all sorts, primarily a filmmaker and a musician if you want to get specific. I absolutely love what I do and I feel so grateful that I get to do it.

Now you will be representing Colorado in the American Song Contest this year! How does it feel to represent your home state on such a large stage?

I feel very honored to represent Colorado. I’ve done a lot of performing throughout my career but this is probably the biggest thing I’ve done in regards to my solo music project. I’m just so grateful for the opportunity to showcase my song and represent my home state on such a large platform.

I feel like many of our readers might not know much about Colorado or have never visited the state. What are some of your favorite things about Colorado that make it unique from the other states and territories in the U.S.?

Colorado has absolutely amazing views, beautiful mountains, and parks. The outdoors in general in Colorado is one of my favorite things and we have one of the most incredible music venues in the world, Red Rocks. Pretty much any musician or artist of any kind has Red Rocks on their bucket list of dream venues to perform at. I’m also a huge hockey fan and the Colorado Avalanche are considered by many to be the best team in the NHL right now.

Now let’s do some get to know you questions – you’ve got a lengthy history with music from your time on Glee and your sibling band R5. When did you first realize that you had a passion and talent for music and singing? 

Some of my earliest memories is my dad throwing me up in the air and dancing around to Bruce Springsteen’s Human Touch. I was probably 3 or 4 at the time. That definitely sparked something but I think I realized my passion when I started watching Nsync concerts on VHS when I was like 9 years old. I would learn their dance moves and sing along and then I would get my siblings to perform with me. We would put on little concerts in our basement and invite the whole family over.

I think we grew up the same VHS tape because I did the EXACT same thing as a kid! ha And in reading your biography I noticed that you like to blur the lines between genres. But if you had to describe your music using only five words, what words would you pick?

Trop-pop and spreading good vibes.

Now you have a lot of experience with touring with O.A.R. and The Driver Era. What has been your most memorable performance on a tour – for better or worse – and what happened to make it so memorable? 

Touring with O.A.R. was basically a dream come true because I’m a big fan of theirs so that whole tour was very special for me. But playing The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles with R5 is one of my most memorable concerts. That venue is just so cool and I had seen a bunch of other concerts there before. We also filmed it and made a live DVD from that concert. The whole experience was just absolutely amazing.

Here’s a tricky question for you – if you got a magical phone that granted you the ability to add your music to the soundtrack of any film or TV show (past, present, or yet to be made), who would get the call and why?

Great question! I think the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks have been so freaking good so I’ll say Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 since that actually could happen. Ha! You never know.

What is one thing that our readers might be surprised to learn about you, like a hidden talent or passion you’ve been keeping from your fans all this time? 

I think people would be surprised to learn that I am a licensed skydiver but I guess I have posted a little bit about that so maybe some do know.

Let’s talk a bit more about the American Song Contest. How did you first learn about the contest, and what motivated you to submit an entry?

The show originally wanted my brothers Ross and Rocky to represent with The Driver Era but when that didn’t work out, I was kind of next in line I guess. I’m so grateful that it worked out this way though. I’m so excited to be part of the show.

Can you tell us a bit more about how “Feel The Love” came about? Was it created specifically for ASC or was it written for a different reason?

FEEL THE LOVE was written for the show. I had a few other songs that were options but I wanted to go with something that had a lot of energy to perform on live TV. I worked with some insanely talented writers and producers on this. Jimmy Jansson and Andreas Carlson I worked with the most. They’re such pros and they brought so much to the song, I feel very fortunate I got to work with them on it.

For our readers who want to connect with you ahead of or after the contest, where can they find you and your music?

All my social media is @rikerlynch but if they want to get behind-the-scenes and exclusive access, I’m also on – Patreon.com/RikerLynch.

Alright, one last question for you – is there a final message you’d like to share with our readers?

I hope you enjoy Feel The Love, the song and the performance. I hope it leaves you feeling better than you did before. Sending you all lots of love and positive vibes!

Well Riker, I want to thank you again for your time today and we wish you the best of luck in the American Song Contest moving forward!

Remember #YOU can catch Riker Lynch on the next episode of the American Song Contest, Monday April 4th at 8 PM Eastern/7 PM Central. #YOU can also jump into the ASC discussions happening on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum page!