Country songstress Cassadee Pope is fresh off of getting her wisdom teeth removed and as she’s recovering from surgery, she is also preparing to kick off 2016 with Chris Young in more ways than one. Pope is not only joining Young on his I’m Comin’ Over tour, which kicks off in Lowell, Massachusetts this week, but she is also the female counterpart in his brand new single and duet, ‘Think Of You.’
The last time that NECM talked to Cassadee Pope, she had just won her first CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year, in 2014. Since then, Cassadee has come so far, including a powerful single titled ‘I Am Invincible, in 2015 and a People’s Choice Award nomination for Favorite Female Country Artist. Her debut album, ‘Frame By Frame,’ yielded her first Platinum-selling hit, ‘Wasting All These Tears.’ What she has accomplished since winning season three of NBC’s The Voice is remarkable. But that is something that she attributes to her “hardcore fan base,” many of who have been with her even before The Voice. Cassadee says, “It was something that when you choose this career, it’s something that is in the back of your mind. When I get nominated for things, it is surreal because I am grouped in with Miranda and Carrie and Kacey and it’s eye opening because these awards are because of the fans. When they are able to make these things happen alongside my new band, it gets a little emotional for me to see that. It’s a beautiful thing.” Whether it was the work of her fans or just her pure raw talent, she caught the eye- or should we say the ear- of country superstar, Chris Young.
After seeing Cassadee perform a cover of Bon Jovi’s ‘Bed of Roses,’ Chris asked her to be the female counterpart in the duet on his new album. Her response? ‘Of course, I would be honored.’ She went on to say that she didn’t have a second thought in committing to the duet. While Cassadee was truly honored that he wanted her to be part of the song, she was blown away when she found out that it would be the second single off the album. “I didn’t even know that was an option when he asked me to sing on the song. I just immediately loved the song and I thought it would be really fun to do. But when I heard he was making it the second single, I of course freaked out because it’s Chris Young. It’s been surreal. It is an amazing song. He’s a great songwriter so I am very confident that it will do great things.” When Chris and Cassadee recorded the single together, they also talked about how cool it would be to perform the song together live. Little did they know at the time that they would have multiple opportunities to do so in the future.
As previously mentioned, Chris ended up asking Cassadee to join him on his I’m Comin’ Over tour, which will allow fans to witness this incredible duet on a nightly basis. And that is something that both Chris and Cassadee are looking forward to. Another thing fans should expect from Cassadee on this tour is a longer set! Rather than the 20 minutes that she has played while opening for Tim McGraw and Rascal Flatts over the past year or so, she will instead have a 30-minute set that she describes as “really well rounded.” During her set, she will play some of her best-known songs and will also mix in a new song that nobody had heard yet. “It’s a little more edgy and empowering. Kinda along the lines of ‘I Am Invincible.’ So I am trying to go that route with my new music and really empower people to go for what they want and believe in themselves. I think this new song will pump people up and make them feel like that.” Additionally, Cassadee says that she will rotate some covers every night to see what fans like most. “I just want to give people something different every night. It would be cool to push some more things out there than just the same things every night.”
To say that Cassadee Pope is a successful musician and artist would be an understatement. But don’t think that she had an easy journey by winning The Voice and being thrust into the spotlight. She has been chasing this for years, even before her success on The Voice. And quite frankly, she says that The Voice route was one of the hardest experiences that she has ever gone through and she has known both sides of it. Before the show, she was in a band for a few years and would drive hours in a van every night from gig to gig. But all of this experience has made Cassadee Pope into the artist and woman that she is. 2016 will get off to a quick start for her with the duet with Chris Young, as well as the tour. In between the tour and time off, she will be back in Nashville working on her next EP, to which she says she already has some great songs and contenders for! We here at New England Country music are excited to see and hear what the year has in store for Cassadee Pope.