Tonio Armani: from Columbus, Georgia, to Death Row
A gospel-trained tenor with a decade in the military behind him, he is now one of the busiest names on the circuit.
Who he is
Tonio Armani is a singer from Columbus, Georgia. Before the hits he spent about ten years in the military and sang gospel, and you can still hear the church in his tenor. He records for Death Row Records. By his own account, when the label first contacted him he assumed the message was spam.
How he got here
His early calling card was "Cowgirl Trailride," a collaboration with the zydeco and southern soul artist S. Dott. "Country Girl" came next and became a line dance staple. "Help Me Find My Drawls" and "Sooner Or Later" widened the audience, and "Sooner Or Later" landed on the label compilation Death Row Revue.
Daddy B. Nice named him Best Southern Soul Male Vocalist for 2025. In August the same writer moved him from No. 37 to No. 9 on his ranking of the genre's current generation, one of the biggest jumps on the list.
Right now
Armani has been everywhere in 2026. He appeared on Access Hollywood in May, cut singles with Lil Jon and the Ying Yang Twins, and recorded one of the three remixes of Ne-Yo's "Ms. Tundra." The Lil Jon remix of "Country Girl" is No. 2 on Daddy B. Nice's November Top 40.
Start with these
- "Country Girl"
- "Help Me Find My Drawls"
- "Cowgirl Trailride" (with S. Dott)
- "Sooner Or Later"
- "Free At Last," for the gospel side
See him live
- November 14: Southern Soul Lovers Tour, AT&T Performing Arts Center, Dallas
- January 2: New Years Weekend Southern Soul Takeover, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Atlanta
More dates on the calendar.