John Rich Collaborates With ‘Sinister’ Reality Star

In his ongoing quest to think outside the box when it comes to making music, John Rich is collaborating with a pop-punk-rocker who starred in a reality dating show. Sinister (real name Derrick Tribbett) from the VH-1 series, 'Daisy of Love,' was in Nashville this week, writing with John and painting the town.

"He's an incredible singer, songwriter and entertainer," John told The Boot on the red carpet at this week's ASCAP Awards, where Sinister was his special guest. "He is hunting down a major record deal and is right on the heels of some serious stuff musically. So I wanted to give him a little education on Nashville Songwriting 101 tonight."

Sinister, a native of Florida, has played in the rock bands Twisted Method, Makeshift Romeo and Dope. As for his solo material, he compares his style to "a cross between Lady Gaga, Lenny Kravitz, Justin Timberlake and Lil Wayne." The 27-year-old musician cites Music City as the place to be for learning the ins and outs of the industry, regardless of musical genre.

"I'm in Nashville now, writing some songs with John. If there's any place to be in music, this is the place. There's all sorts of music here," Sinister told The Boot. "I'm grateful he brought me along to hang out and give me insight on how this whole thing works down here. I respect John a lot."

John has collaborated with numerous stars outside of country music, including another rocker-turned-reality-star, Sebastian Bach, who has written and recorded with John and even joined Big & Rich on tour.