13 minutes | Monday, 11 December 2023
'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.
Brett Young was born and raised in Orange County, California, and was a teenager when he first developed a love for music and learned to play guitar. His main interest though was baseball, and he was being scouted by the majors during his high school days, but his baseball career came to an end in college when a serious elbow injury spoiled his pitching arm, and he began exploring music again. Influenced by Gavin DeGraw, Young began writing songs and making use of his rich, soulful voice. By 2007, he was appearing regularly at California listening rooms, and he'd released his first record, a self-titled EP. In 2011, Young released a second independent effort, “Make Believe”, and “On Fire”, followed in 2013. After Young's first decade in the business, he'd appeared at some of California's most prestigious venues, including the Troubadour, the Roxy, and the Viper Room, and had opened for the likes of Colbie Caillat and Katy Perry.
As Young began bringing forward the country-influenced side of his music, he left California for Nashville and celebrated the move with an EP titled “Country in California”. Young's new sound attracted the attention of the powerful Nashville-based label Big Machine Label Group, which signed him to a record deal. Young's debut for the label, a six-song EP titled “Brett Young”, was released in February 2016. His single "Sleep Without You", fared well on both the country and pop charts, reaching number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another hit, "In Case You Didn't Know”, followed before the release of his full-length Big Machine debut in February 2017. The album hit number two on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart, eventually going platinum.
This is Brett Young in conversation with Stuart Banford.