When Chris Young released his debut, self-titled album in 2006, it was the same day that ‘The King,’ George Strait, would release his eventual Platinum-certified ‘It Just Comes Natural’ album. Fast forward nearly five years later, Chris released his ‘Neon’ album on July 12, 2011- the same day that Blake Shelton released his new album, ‘Red River Blue,’ which also would become Platinum-certified. Chris Young simply had some bad luck and timing when he was dropping his albums. But in 2015, that all changed, as he released his ‘I’m Comin’ Over’ album, which turned out to be his first album that debuted at number one! And sure, he may not have been battling ‘The King’ or Blake Shelton or any other major country artist, but that did not matter. ‘I’m Comin’ Over’ resonated with Chris’ fans with 11 impeccable songs. With the work that he put into the album, it was truly something special for Chris Young, telling New England Country Music, “I am super happy that this is the one that did it.”
Not only did the album debut at number one, but the album’s title track also became a number one song for Chris Young- his seventh number one overall. He recently celebrated that accomplishment but he was even more proud of the fact that it was a multi-week number one, “because it doesn’t happen a whole lot anymore.” One thing about the new album was that it was the first one in which Chris also produced. To have a brand new album that debuted at number one on the charts with the first single becoming a number one song, where Chris not only produced but also sang, was ‘special.’ Chris says, “It was truly something where I was trying to take the next step as an artist from where I’ve been at. That all starts with the music. Leading off the record like that is all you could ever ask for. I think that’s just an extra layer to everything that I’ve dealt with in the past. A little more work that goes into it but something that can be celebrated on the other side of it.”
The next single off ‘I’m Comin’ Over’ is a song titled ‘Think Of You,’ which is a duet with Cassadee Pope. When Chris was writing this song, he had one artist in mind for the other half of the duet: the aforementioned Cassadee Pope. Young recalls, “She was somebody I was leaning towards from the very beginning. She was actually my first pick. She has such a powerful voice and this is a very emotionally powerful song as well as vocally challenging. It’s a pretty rangy song. So to have someone I knew was going to nail it, was something important to me. The very first time I ever heard her live, I was like, ‘Holy crap!’ Very glad I didn’t have to call anyone else.” So while Chris got his number one pick, it took some pressure off the project, as it can be difficult to find the right person for a duet. When Chris and co-writers, Corey Crowder and Josh Hoge, were writing the song they even contemplated whether or not they wanted to make it a duet because of the challenge of finding the right person for the song. But luckily for Chris, he found the right one.
When it came to planning his I’m Comin’ Over tour, it was only natural that Chris would ask Pope to join him on the road. The tour kicks off this week at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts. Chris is ready to get back on the road, telling us, “I’m ready for it for sure. Just by the nature alone of being able to get out there with Cassadee and sing that duet live will be something really special for everybody. I’m pumped about it. I’m also someone who doesn’t like to sit at home and not work very much. I got my few weeks off in with Christmas and hanging with my family and New Year’s and everything else. It’s time to get back to work. I’m ready for it.” With the new album, fans should expect to hear some music that they’ve never heard before, as Chris and his production will be working that into the shows. One thing that Chris is really excited about for this tour is the ability to do things the way he wants it when he wants. He explained to us that it’s a lot more fun now than when he started because back then, fans may have known just one of his songs so he would always perform that one song and perform it last. Chris goes on to say, “Now it’s just getting to the point where I have so many things that people have heard on the radio and it starts to get really fun thinking, ‘What if I want to put this at the end instead of what we normally do? Let’s just completely swap the set around and do this instead.’ It creates a lot of spontaneity and on top of that it creates the opportunity to do what you want when you want on stage.” That concept is something that is really interesting to Chris and something he is enjoying about preparing for the tour. Another concept that he is integrating into his tour and preparation is something that he learned from Brad Paisley while he was on tour with him. Brad told Chris to ‘figure out what the audiences want to do’ in different songs in a way to engage the audience.
With years of experiences and thousands of miles under his touring belt, Chris Young is ready for the I’m Comin’ Over tour. Couple that with his new album of the same name and fans have a lot to look forward to from Chris Young. And fans aren’t the only ones excited to see Young and Pope perform their brand new single together on the road. Young jokes, “Now I just gotta step up and make sure I don’t sound bad.” Between the new album and the upcoming tour, 2016 is off to a strong start after an incredible ending to 2015 for Chris Young. “I’m just going to keep my head down and do all the work that I’m supposed to do. I have very high hopes for the year. Not just this single but whatever we go on with next later in the year. Looking forward to getting out there and being all over the place this summer. There’s a lot for me to look forward to. I don’t know how this year can top last year, but if it’s as good as last year, I will take it.”