The CountryLine Songwriter Series with Kane Brown
CountryLine Songwriter Series
Monday, 5 February 2024 - 20 minutes
'The CountryLine Songwriter Series', is where you'll hear from some of the most successful artists and songwriters working in Nashville today. Country music is all about storytelling and this is where you'll discover the stories from the people themselves of how they managed to find their way into such a competitive industry and rise to the top. What motivates and inspires them and what they've learnt along the way.
Kane Brown was born in 1993 in Chattanooga, Tennessee to a white mother and Black father. He spent much of his youth living with his mother in Redbank, Tennessee, where he first became interested in music while in high school. Initially attracted to R&B, Brown decided to focus on country after winning an 11th grade talent contest with his rendition of Chris Young's "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)”. Brown then began posting videos online of covers of songs by Brantley Gilbert, Alan Jackson, and others. He quickly developed a loyal following, a fan base that helped his own single, "Don't Go City On Me”, go viral upon its release in 2014. In 2015, Brown released his debut EP, “Closer”, which reached the Top Ten of the Billboard Country Albums chart. Following “Closer”, he also released the stand-alone single "Used to Love You Sober”.
In early 2016, Brown signed a recording contract with RCA/Sony Music Nashville. That December, he returned with his full-length self-titled debut, featuring the singles "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" and "Thunder in the Rain”. The album debuted at number one on the country charts and peaked at number ten on the Billboard 200. Two more singles, "What Ifs”, featuring Lauren Alaina, and "Heaven" appeared in 2017.
"Lose It”, the first single from Kane Brown's second album, appeared in June 2018. It climbed to number one on Billboard's Country Airplay chart prior to “Experiment's”, release in November. “Experiment”, debuted at number one on Billboard's Top 200 and spawned two more number one Country Airplay singles with "Good as You" and "Homesick" arriving in January and August of 2019, respectively. Also in 2019, he joined DJ Marshmello for the single "One Right Thing" and cracked the Top 20 of the Billboard Country chart with his song "For My Daughter”.
As “Experiment”, wound down its album cycle in 2020, Brown released “Mixtape, Vol. 1”, in August of that year. The EP was highlighted by the hit single "Cool Again”. Following the Chris Young collaboration "Famous Friends”, Brown teamed up with Blackbear for 2021's "Memory”. The number one Billboard Country Airplay solo single "One Mississippi" arrived later that year, opening a series of singles released in advance of his 2022 album “Different Man”. Prior to the September appearance of “Different Man”, "Like I Love Country Music" topped the Billboard Country Airplay Charts, with the promo singles "Whiskey Sour" and "Leave You Alone" helping build anticipation for the record's release. Largely produced by Dann Huff, “Different Man”, was an exercise in genre-fluid country, finding Brown attempting everything from R&B to stripped-down balladeering. He co-wrote all but one of the album's 17 songs. It hit number two on the country chart and five on the Billboard 200.
In February of 2023 Kane chatted with CountryLine's Stuart Banford.
