“Famous Friends” Gather To Celebrate Double Platinum Success of Chris Young, Kane Brown Duet
Young surprised by second Platinum award
By Preshias Harris
Chris Young doesn’t like surprises. At least that is what he said during a party on the afternoon of Thursday, August 4 at Winners Bar in Nashville. But he liked this one.
Young’s colleagues and friends – famous or otherwise – were there to celebrate the success of the song “Famous Friends,” his duet with Kane Brown that has been certified Double Platinum by RIAA. The song was written by Young alongside Cary Barlowe and Corey Crowder.
I remember the month when “Famous Friends” finally climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay charts. The song was slamming so I was hearing it literally everywhere I went and SiriusXM kept it in heavy rotation.
As everyone began to arrive at the intimate invitation-only event at Winners, hugs and congrats were being exchanged everywhere: AMG management, label teams, syndicated radio, publishing teams, SESAC’s Shannon Hatch and E.T. Brown were there for Josh Hoge and Cary Barlowe … you get the idea!
Corey Crowder came in a little early to take advantage of catching up with ‘famous’ friends including Mitchell Tenpenny (Young, Crowder and Tenpenny all have MTSU connections; Mitchell was class of 2012). Corey co-produced the Chris Young and Mitchell Tenpenny collaboration, “At the End of a Bar,” the follow-up single to “Famous Friends.”
Ken Robold the EVP & COO of Sony Music Nashville kicked off the celebration and welcomed everyone. After noting the reason for the celebration – “Famous Friends” reaching the dizzy heights of Double Platinum status – he had a surprise for Chris Young. It was another plaque, this one recognizing RIAA Platinum achievement for the song “Drowning,” a deeply personal song for Young who co-wrote it with Crowder and Josh Hoge.
Now the surprised recipient of two Platinum plaques, Young, flanked by his co-writers, took the mic to express his gratitude. He talked about the uncertainty for everyone in the music industry brought about by the pandemic and how that affected both songwriting and performing.
“We were all sitting there going, ‘What are we going to do? How’s this going to work out?’,” he recalled. “But I’ve been lucky enough to have one of the biggest songs that I’ve ever done during that period of time.”
“Famous Friends” topped the Billboard Country Airplay charts in July 2021, despite the unique challenges that the pandemic had brought to the music industry.
Indicating the second plaque for “Drowning,” he said with a grin, “Then, something I didn’t know – because I don’t like surprises – but we’re getting alongside everyone from my record label, from Sony, so I’m incredibly lucky to have people in my corner.”
He added that these events are fun, “Because we get to hang ‘wall art’ and I love that part, but it doesn’t happen without every single person in this room, so, I love you guys, I love this song, I love everything that’s happened in my life [but] I can’t take all the credit for it because I’ve just got great people helping me do that. Thank you.”
Corey Crowder was a tad shy as he took the mic. He thanked everyone and was in agreement with Young, who told Crowder that things like this don’t happen all the time! When Josh Hoge took the stage, he quoted the song written by Guy Clark and Gary Nicholson: “Sometimes you write the song, sometimes the song writes you.”
The event was a testament to the teamwork and perseverance of everyone involved in the Platinum-selling success of both “Famous Friends” and “Drowning.” (Kane Brown was unable to attend the event.)
About Chris Young: Multi-platinum?RCA Records Nashville?global entertainer? Chris Young has accumulated an impressive list of accomplishments, including membership in the iconic Grand Ole Opry, 5 Billion on-demand streams, 13 Million singles sold, 12 career No. 1 singles, 24 R.I.A.A.?Gold/Platinum/Multi-Platinum?certified projects and numerous ACM, AMA, CMA and Grammy nominations,?as well as wins for Performance of the Year and Collaborative Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards.?These accomplishments and more landed him in the Top 20 of? Billboard’s top country artists of the decade.?
More about Chris Young at his website, his Facebook page, on Twitter (@ChrisYoungMusic) and Instagram (@chrisyoungmusic)
Photo credit: Jeff Johnson
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About Preshias Harris
JournalistPreshias Harris is a music journalist who has interviewed everyone from Alabama to ZZ Top for articles and stories published in numerous music magazines. She is the author of longest-running monthly country music column in America and authored The College of Songology™ 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s ‘Need To Know’ Reference Handbook. As a music career development consultant with special emphasis on emerging and aspiring artists and songwriters, she focuses on ‘chasing the dream’ while understanding the realities of the music industry. She maintains a writers’ room on Music Row – named The Sangtuary – for her clients and their co-writers. She is a member of ASCAP (as a publisher), BMI, The Country Music Association (CMA), The Recording Academy, The National Association of Talent Directors (NATD) and a life member of Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI).
You can find out more about Preshias at https://www.collegeofsongology.com and find her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com
