Centricity Music / Publishing Announce New Artist And Songwriter Bay Turner

Centricity Music and Centricity Publishing sign exclusive agreements with America’s Got Talent, BET’s Sunday Best alum and singer/songwriter, Bay Turner, who is represented by BrickHouse Entertainment and Platform Artists for management and booking respectively.

With his team in place, and after being discovered by millions on Season 17 of America’s Got Talent and Season 10 of BET’s Sunday Best, Turner is poised to release new music following a remarkable journey seasoned with successes as well as health issues that threatened to end his career in music.

Wholly captivated by the soulful sounds of artists like Donny Hathaway, Luther Vandross and Stevie Wonder when he was a young man, Turner’s voice blossomed while in college. After earning his undergraduate degree, he became a rising star in young artist programs affiliated with major opera houses around the world. As his faith became more of a central force in his life, he discovered, and began leading worship alongside, the iconic Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.

Just when he thought he was stepping into a divinely orchestrated era of his career, surgery to remove two benign tumors in his chest nicked and paralyzed one of his vocal chords. He was told he would likely never sing again. Under doctors’ orders, he spent the next several months in silence, not using his voice at all. Miraculously, new tests were done afterwards revealing his vocal chords to be seamlessly healed and healthy — so healthy that there wasn’t even any visible scar tissue, which was a rare occurrence that left even the seasoned ENT doctor confounded.

“I think my faith grew in pain,” Turner observes. “God had to teach me how to separate who I am as a man from my gift of singing. I think I would have crashed and burned as a recording artist if I was fully relying on my gifting and not on God. Today, I’m so grateful for the pain that brought me fully back to Jesus, though it’s crazy to be thankful for the stuff that felt like the end of the world.”

While many artists have earned record deals thanks to air time on these widely publicized contests, before his season of “America’s Got Talent” even aired, Turner was approached by his new label home, who initially discovered him via a YouTube video where he was singing a cover of CeCe Winans’ “Alabaster Box.” After attending Centricity Music’s invitation-only independent artist retreat, Turner was signed to both a recording and publishing contract.

“In our typical work, we don’t hear a lot of voices that literally stop us in our tracks, but when I first heard Bay’s, I had to find out who this guy was,” reflects Centricity Music’s A&R Manager, Stephen Floyd. “As we began the process of building a friendship, I really wanted him to be a part of the future that Centricity is building. It was a joy to discover not only is he a genuine artist with a world-class voice, he’s a world-class person as well.”

“Bay Turner is a remarkable artist and an even more incredible human,” adds Chase Swayze, BrickHouse Entertainment. “Bay lights up every room he walks in and it’s truly an honor to partner with him in sharing the message of Christ through music! Our team could not be more excited for the days ahead.”

Since being paired with some of Christian music’s most respected songwriters, like Paul Duncan, Tony Wood, Michael Farren, Ethan Hulse and Bryan Fowler, among others, Turner has fallen in love with crafting original music. The burgeoning lyricist now has upwards of 90 songs he’s co-written over the course of the past 18 months. It’s a deep well from which to draw as he chooses selections to record for his debut EP, due later this year. A fusion of the R&B/Soul that raised him, the opera that challenged him, the Gospel that shaped him and the modern worship that captured his heart, Turner’s diverse artistry is currently being cultivated in the studio. His debut single, “Brand New,” is set to release May 3.

“There’s no pressure for me to be anything other than who God’s called me to be. So I think that takes a lot of the worldly weight off,” the newcomer remarks of the chapter in his story that’s about to unfold. “There’s nothing I could do as Bay Turner to ever make this thing happen. I know I’m supposed to be using what God gave me to bring Him glory. It’s 100% in God’s hands, and I’m just here to be a faithful servant.”