Coffey Anderson figured out how to use reality TV and the internet to his advantage, carving out a career in country music through self-released music videos and appearances on television. He first attempted to break into the music business by auditioning for the second season of American Idol in 2003 but it wasn't until he began posting his Christian reinterpretations of mainstream pop hits--such as a version of Rhianna's "Umbrella" rewritten to be about Jesus--that he built a following. This coincided with Anderson being cast on the sixth season of Nashville Star in 2008, an appearance that helped give him enough of a boost to gain an audience that sustained him over the next decade, as he alternated Christian albums with secular records that blended country and pop with a hint of hip-hop. Anderson established this sound on his 2016 album Boots and Jeans, a record that featured "Mr. Red White and Blue," a patriotic anthem that set the pace for such 2020s songs as "Back the Blue" and "America Is My Hometown," the latter featuring on his 2022 mini-album Come On With It.

A native of Bangs, Texas, Anderson was encouraged by a girlfriend's father to learn guitar while attending the small Baptist liberal arts school Howard Payne University. The budding songwriter soon began attracting attention around campus and, after graduating with a Practical Theology degree, decided to take a leap of faith and try his hand at a music career in Los Angeles. He spent part of the early 2000s writings songs and gigging around town, and even made it through a few early rounds of American Idol's second season in 2003. An early YouTube devotee, Anderson began building an online audience by posting videos of himself singing pop, country, and praise songs along with some of his own original material. In 2008, he auditioned for NBC's talent contest, Nashville Star, and became one of the show's 12 finalists. During one episode, he debuted an original country song called "Southern Man," which would become the title track of his debut album later that year.

Having begun his recording career in earnest, Anderson developed a unique style loosely centered around a country framework, but included pop and R&B elements, rap, and praise music. He independently released faith-based albums like The Inspiration, Vol. 1 and Worship Unplugged, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, alongside secular albums like his eponymous 2010 label debut on Dream Records, managed to find audiences in both realms. As a performer he adapted to playing a wide variety of venues from clubs and festivals to churches and rodeos while working as a commercial actor on the side.

More independent releases followed like 2013's Redemption and 2015's gospel-oriented God Is Enough, which emphasized his R&B tone. Anderson's 2016 album, Boots and Jeans, offered a strong example of his distinctive country-pop mish-mash which paired patriotic lyrics and good-time themes with hip-hop beats, electronic elements, and more organic Nashville instrumentation. It proved to be a breakout release, yielding hits like "Mr. Red, White, and Blue" and "Better Today." Over the next year Anderson continued to defy genres, releasing singles like the hooky country-pop of "Bud Light Blue," the smooth R&B of "Can I," and the warm ballad "Stay with Me." In 2018, he returned with the full-length Cowboy Style, followed by non-album singles like "Broken Halos" and "Heaven."

The Go Country album followed in 2019, then Anderson released a flurry of singles in 2020, all leading up to the November release of Country Ever After, a Netflix reality show about Anderson that documented his country career, his wife Criscilla Crossland's illness with cancer and their shared faith. Anderson released the "Back the Blue" single in 2021, quickly following it with the singles that comprised his 2022 album Come on With It. That year, he released a "rock version" of "Mr. Red White & Blue" recorded with Drew Jacobs. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi