Riker Lynch - Singer-songwriter, Family and Childhood

Ricker Anthony Lynch was born in Colorado to Stormie and Mark Lynch on 8th November 1991. He is the eldest of five siblings and has three brothers – Rocky, Ross and Ryland and a sister named Rydel.

When he was three, he joined Colorado Productions, where he attended vocal training and acting classes. At the same time, along with his sister he took piano lessons.

He spent most of his childhood performing with his siblings. He used to direct films, make music videos and write songs with his brothers before he was ten. And was enrolled in several dance competitions with his sister as his partner.

Since he possessed so much talent, he often found himself in singing groups performing in Denver and acting in musicals and dramas for children such as -Peter Pan, Aladdin, A chorus Line and Annie Get Your Gun.

When he was sixteen, he requested his parents to move to California, in order for him to pursue a career in acting or music. However, his father couldn’t take a transfer and had to stay back to provide for the family.

This step split the family, yet his mother shifted with Riker and his siblings to L.A. He missed having his father around daily but worked hard so that his father’s sacrifice wouldn’t go to waste.

After an audition constituting singing and acting with Fox Productions, he landed himself a role in the show ‘Glee’. It was then one of the biggest hit series of television, in which he played the role of ‘Jeff’.

His character was introduced in season 2. His recurring role, spanned over the next three seasons, with season four being the last of the show.

Following the last season, along with the other members of the ‘Dalton Academy Warblers’ he participated in the ‘Glee Live! In Concert!’ tour in 2011 from May to July in Canada, England and Ireland.

Owing to the great success of the tour and fans demanding more from the show, a movie was released on television based on recordings from the tour. The movie was named ‘Glee: The 3D Concert Movie’ and later hit the DVD racks at stores worldwide.

He was also cast in minor roles in several films from 2010 to 2012. He played the ‘Hip Kid’ in ‘Suicide Dolls’ and acted in a short film called ‘A Day as Holly’s Kids’ as the character Johnny. He also starred in the comedy drama ‘Los Angeles’.

Simultaneously, his brothers Rocky and Ross learned how to play the guitar and his sister Rydel was getting better as a pianist. Riker had by then already learnt to play bass and his best friend, Ellington Ratliff was a classic drummer. With all the requirements of a band, they struck upon the idea of forming their own band naming it ‘R5’.

Riker is the bassist of the band and also its songwriter/ lead vocalist alongside his brother Ross. The band began their career by playing at ‘Orange County Fair’, ‘The Knitting Factory’ and ‘Six Flags Magic Mountain’ in Southern California.

In 2010, the band released their debut Extended Play (EP) called ‘Ready Set Rock’ produced and managed by E-Vega. Their EP was received well, and was listed on the U.S. music charts.

In 2012, with the success from their first EP, they signed a record deal with ‘Hollywood Records’ and immediately embarked on their first club tour as a band. On returning from tour, they performed at various shows in USA.

Later that year in September, they released two songs via the teenage sitcom ‘Austin & Ally’ and followed it up by releasing their second EP in 2013 titled ‘Loud’.

They gathered humongous attention with their second EP, especially amongst youngsters. They planned a tour and in September, 2013 where they launched their debut album ‘Louder’ with their song ‘Pass Me By’ topping music charts.

With a blossoming career, Riker joined the reality show ‘Dancing with the Stars’ in its 20th Season. The judges Len Goodman, Julianne Hough, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Inaba were spellbound by his dancing skills.

He pulled off various dance styles including contemporary, jive, salsa and many more like a professional. His partner on the show was the graceful dancer, Allison Holker.

With the judge’s support and votes from America, he reached the finale unfortunately losing to Rumer Willis and Valentin Chmerkovskiy. He was voted first runner-up with Noah Galloway in third position.

As the lead bassist and vocalist, he has helped his band produce great songs such as ‘Without You’, ‘Never’, ‘Can’t Get Enough of You’, ‘Say You’ll Stay’ and ‘Crazy for You’.

Some of the covers of R5 went viral on social media. Eminent singers and musiciansattributed credit to the band for creating some of the best cover songs. The two most popular were Justin Bieber’s ‘Love Me’ and Bruno Mar’s ‘Marry You’.

His most notable performance in the field of acting has been his role as ‘Jeff’ in the musical comedy drama, ‘Glee’. The teenage sitcom and choir show, earned him recognition as a singer and performer and bolstered the dream of organizing his own band.

Riker Lynch placed second on the television show ‘Dancing with the Stars’ with Allison Holker. Since the actor-musician was last seen on television in 2013, it was a delight for the audience to watch him perform again.

Riker presently lives in California with his siblings and parents. He shares a strong bond with his brothers, claiming to work with them for all future endeavours.

He is an avid reader and prefers fiction novels such as ‘Harry Potter’ and the ‘Hunger Games’. At six feet, he is a trend setter and prefers casual and stylish clothing.

Riker is dating ‘Instagram’ star and dancer, Savannah Latimer since 2015. She is presently working with ‘Bloc Talent Agency’and stars in music videos for many artists.

Riker named his little brother Rocky after the name of a baseball team called ‘Colorado Rockies’.