Nashville , TN (RCA Records/
Chris Young Official Website) - A year ago,
Chris Young was fronting the house band at the famous Cowboy's honky-tonk in Arlington , TX and being encouraged to audition for Nashville Star. The 21-year old Murfreesboro, TN native first balked at the idea until he was told that the winner, for the first time, would get a recording contact with RCA Records, whose label family has been home to Young's heroes including Keith Whitley, John Anderson,
Ronnie Milsap and Alan Jackson. A year later, Young is set to launch his self-titled RCA Records debut on October 3rd. Produced by
Buddy Cannon (Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans), the album showcases an up-to-date, contemporary edge on traditional country music.
'RCA has always been the label that I wanted to be on,' explains Young. 'It's where my heroes recorded.'
Chris Young is a culmination of Young's rich voice, gift for songwriting and his work ethic, which made it possible to record the entire album in less than six weeks. An impressive accomplishment from such a young artist, the CD features several songs that Chris wrote or co-wrote including the current single 'Drinkin' Me Lonely,' the rockin' 'Lay It On Me,' the celebratory 'Small Town Big Time' and the love song ' Center Of My World .'
'Songwriting became this obsession early on,' says Young. 'I love singing and being in front of an audience, but I love writing songs just as much.'
A love of country music was first inspired by Chris' grandfather, one-time Louisiana Hayride performer Richard Yates. Mr. Yates bought Young his first guitar and taught him to play his first song, Marty Robbins' 'Begging To You.' With his debut release, Young was passionate about recording several songs that evoke country music he grew up listening to, including 'Drinkin' Me Lonely,' 'Flowers' and 'You're Gonna Love Me.'
'Listening to my grandfather play music changed me somehow,' reflects Young. 'I understood why he loved it so much.'
In the September 25th issue of Country Weekly, Young was voted the No 1 Hottest Bachelor in the fan-voted contest, topping a list that included Kenny Chesney, Gary Allan and Keith Anderson. Young will also be performing 'Drinkin' Me Lonely' on NBC's Tonight Show With Jay Leno October 12th.
For more information about Chris Young, check out www.chrisyoungcountry.com.
