A native of Oxfordshire, England, and now based in London, Rhys Lewis began playing the guitar at 13, but only started singing after joining his brothers' band. He eventually began writing his own songs, sharing his first material under the moniker Rhys Lewis & the Relics. That led to a record deal with Decca, which released his first official solo single, "Waking Up Without You," in late 2016. He released several more songs over the next year or so, drawing millions of streams each for tunes such as 2017's "Be Your Man" and "Reason to Hate You." The latter appeared on the Bad Timing EP in early 2018. In the meantime, Lewis toured in support of James TW and JP Cooper.