Christopher Alan Young (born June 12, 1985) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

singer and songwriter. In 2006, he was the Season 4 winner of the television program ''

Nashville Star ''Nashville Star'' is an American reality television singing competition program that aired for six seasons, from 2003 to 2008. Its first five seasons aired on USA Network, while the last season aired on NBC. Its five seasons on USA made it the ...

'', a singing competition on USA. After winning, he was signed to RCA Records Nashville, releasing his self-titled debut album that same year. It produced two singles on Hot Country Songs with " Drinkin' Me Lonely" and "You're Gonna Love Me". His second album, '' The Man I Want to Be'', was released September 1, 2009. It included the singles " Voices", "

Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song) "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Chris Young (musician), Chris Young. It was released in February 2009 as the second single from his 2009 album ''The Man I Want to Be'' (20 ...

", and the title track, all of which went to number 1. Young's third album, ''

Neon Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypt ...

'', produced two more number ones in "

Tomorrow Tomorrow may refer to: * Tomorrow (time), the day after today * The future, that which occurs after the present Periodicals * ''To-Morrow'' (Chicago magazine), a magazine from 1903 to 1909 * ''Tomorrow'' (New Zealand magazine), a left-wing ma ...

" and " You" in 2011 as well as the top 5 hit "

I Can Take It from There "I Can Take It from There" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Chris Young. It was released in October 2012 as the fourth and final single from his 2011 album ''Neon''. The song was written by Young, Rhett Akins and ...

" in 2012. The follow-up, 2013's '' A.M.'', produced three new singles with the top 5 hits " Aw Naw", "

Who I Am with You "Who I Am with You" is a song written by Marv Green, Paul Jenkins, and Jason Sellers and recorded by American country music artist Chris Young. It was released in January 2014 as the second single from Young’s 2013 album '' A.M.''. "Who I Am wi ...

", and " Lonely Eyes". His fifth album, '' I'm Comin' Over'', was released on November 13, 2015. In 2017, Young gained one of the crowning achievements in country music, becoming a member of the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divi ...

Early years

Chris Young was born in

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropo ...

, on June 12, 1985. While growing up, he attended Trinity United Methodist church. His grandfather, Richard Yates, was a performer on the Louisiana Hayride. Retrieved June 11, 2008. Young showed interest in music from an early age, performing in various children's theater productions; while attending Oakland High School (Tennessee), he sang in his high school choir and began playing in local clubs. In 2000, he performed with his high school's Winter Drumline in a performance entitled "A Night at the Palladium", where he was a mariachi singer. The group performed in the Winter Guard International Tournament in Ohio that year. In 2003 Chris was a national YoungArts winner and Presidential Scholar of the Arts. While attending college, he continued to tour, performing more than 150 shows a year.

Career

2005–2007: ''Nashville Star'' and self-titled debut album

In 2006, Chris Young was the house singer for Cowboys Dance Hall in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

. Park Scott and Keith Swan told him that he should audition for ''

'' in

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He entered the show and won in 2006. His win earned him a contract with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

Nashville and late that year, he released his debut single " Drinkin' Me Lonely". That song peaked at number 42 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot Country Songs chart and served as the first single from his self-titled debut album, which was produced by

Buddy Cannon Buddy Cannon (born April 20, 1947 Lexington, Tennessee) is an American country music songwriter and record producer. Active since the late 1970s, he is known primarily for his work with Willie Nelson and as Kenny Chesney's record producer, for ...

. The album's second single, "You're Gonna Love Me", peaked at number 48.

2008–2010: ''Voices'' EP and ''The Man I Want to Be''

In May 2008, Young released his third single, "Voices". At the CMA Music Festival in June, he promoted the single by emailing it to visitors at his Music Fest booth. In August, "Voices" became his first Top 40 entry on the ''Billboard'' charts, peaking at 37. His second album, '' The Man I Want to Be'', was released in September 2009. It was produced by James Stroud and includes

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s of

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

' "Rose in Paradise" (as a duet with

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

) and

Tony Joe White Tony Joe White (July 23, 1943 – October 24, 2018), nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit " Polk Salad Annie" and for " Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first ...

's " Rainy Night in Georgia". In October 2009, Young's fourth chart single, "

", became his first number 1 single. The album's title track was released in November 2009. Both it and a re-release of "Voices" went to number 1. He was nominated for the 2010

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country musi ...

2011–2015: ''Neon'' and ''A.M.''

Young released the single "

" in February 2011. It became his fourth straight number 1. The album ''

'' was released in July 2011. The album includes his fifth consecutive number 1, " You", the title track, and "

". In August 2012, "Tomorrow" became his first platinum selling single. In 2013, Young served as an Ambassador for the CMA Songwriter's Series showcased in Belfast, Dublin, London, and Paris in an attempt to showcase country music overseas. The first single from Young's fourth studio album, " Aw Naw", was released to country radio on May 13, 2013. It peaked at number 3 on the

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

chart in November 2013. The album, '' A.M.'', was released on September 17, 2013. The album's second single, "

", was released on January 20, 2014. It peaked at number 2 on the Country Airplay chart in August 2014. The album's third single, " Lonely Eyes", was released to country radio on August 25, 2014. It reached number 2 on the Country Airplay chart in April 2015.

2015–2016: ''I'm Comin' Over'' and ''It Must Be Christmas''

On May 12, 2015, Young released a new single titled " I'm Comin' Over". It was the lead single from his fifth studio album of the same name, which was released on November 13, 2015. The same month, "I'm Comin' Over" became his sixth Number One single on the Country charts, and his first since "You" in February 2012. Young played the 14-show I'm Comin' Over Tour in late 2016 in support of the album. The album's second single, "Think of You" with Cassadee Pope, was released on January 4, 2016. It reached number one on the Country charts in May 2016. The third single, "Sober Saturday Night"—a duet with

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

—was released on June 6, 2016. It hit number one on the Country Airplay in March 2017. Young released a country Christmas album, '' It Must Be Christmas'', in October 2016.

2017–2018: ''Losing Sleep'' and Grand Ole Opry induction

His sixth album's first single, " Losing Sleep" was released to country radio on May 12, 2017. Young announced the album was also titled '' Losing Sleep'' on August 23, 2017. It reached number one on the Country Airplay on February 10, 2018. The album's second single was " Hangin' On". On August 29, 2017, Young was invited by country legend

to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He was officially inducted by

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album '' Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nash ...

2019–present: ''Famous Friends''

Young released "

Raised on Country "Raised on Country" is a song recorded by American country music artist Chris Young. It was released on January 28, 2019, as the first single from Young's eighth studio album ''Famous Friends''. It was originally intended to be the title track, ...

," the lead-off single to his seventh studio album, in January 2019. The album's second single, "

Drowning Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer a ...

," was released on September 23, 2019. "

Famous Friends "Famous Friends" is a song recorded by American country music singers Chris Young and Kane Brown. It was released on November 20, 2020, as the third single from Young's eighth studio album of the same name. Young wrote and produced the song wi ...

," featuring Young's friend Kane Brown, was released on November 20, 2020, as the album's third single. The album, also titled ''

'', was released on August 6, 2021. "At the End of a Bar", featuring Mitchell Tenpenny, was released on September 13, 2021, as the album's fourth single.

Personal life

On August 13, 2013, Young was en route to a tour date in Montana when he went into septic shock from a small cut on his leg which became infected. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

. The medical team immediately started Young on medication, and he had surgery on August 14 to treat the infection. Young returned home under his physician's care. As expected, his mobility was impacted by the surgery and his doctor requested he wait a full week post-surgery to resume touring. Young resumed on August 22. In June 2014, Young cancelled a performance at the CMA Music Festival after accidentally cutting his left hand with a kitchen knife. The cut required surgery to reconnect tendons in the hand.

Philanthropy

Young has supported Little Kids Rock by donating various items to the organization for auction, raising money to put instruments in the hands of children. He has been a major supporter for Stars For Stripes raising $35,000 for the organization. He supports St. Jude Children's Hospital, and has raised money for it by sponsoring a tree at the Gaylord Opryland Resort's Annual Hall of Trees. On September 8, 2014, Young donated $25,000 of his own money, along with $5,000 from his fan club, to the Nashville School of Arts. In late August 2017 he created a fundraising site for Houston to help with the massive flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey. On October 4, 2018, Young donated $5000 to a GoFundMe page to help pay for cataract surgery for a dog named Granola. He donated the money after a fan reached out to him on Twitter asking him for help marketing the GoFundMe project.

Discography

Studio albums *'' Chris Young'' (2006) *'' The Man I Want to Be'' (2009) *''

'' (2011) *'' A.M.'' (2013) *'' I'm Comin' Over'' (2015) *'' It Must Be Christmas'' (2016) *'' Losing Sleep'' (2017) *''

'' (2021)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Chris 1985 births American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Grand Ole Opry members Living people Nashville Star contestants Nashville Star winners People from Murfreesboro, Tennessee RCA Records Nashville artists 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers