“There’s a little bit of everything on there, and growing up, listening to a full record, that was what I always wanted.”
As he nears the 20th anniversary of his debut country album, singer-songwriter Chris Young has what you’d call “history.” Powered by his rumbling traditional baritone, he’s scored enough hits to stretch from Music Row all the way his hometown of Murfreesboro — including 14 enduring Number Ones. But with the October 17 release of his 10th album, I Didn’t Come Here to Leave, he starts a whole new era.
Still a proud native son of Middle Tennessee, Young nevertheless found a new (label) home in Black River Entertainment, with “a burst of fresh energy and different perspectives.” He’s doubling down on the core of his sound — namely, that booming vocal and modern-traditional mindset — and says the time of change has paid dividends
According to him, I Didn’t Come Here to Leave might just be his favorite album to date.
“Everybody can say that about every album they make … hopefully,” Young says with a chuckle. “But I had a whole lot of fun making this record. I’d been writing nonstop the entire time I had my last record out [2024’s Young Love & Saturday Nights], and I didn’t really know what I was going to do with those songs. I’m like, ‘What am I doing here, why am I writing so much?’ And turns out there was a reason for it.”
Co-produced with Andy Sheridan, 14 new songs capture the spark Young still feels in his bones, with the multi-talented star taking full creative control. He’s actually been in the producer’s chair for every album since 2015’s I’m Coming Over. “I don’t think a lot of people realize that,” he says. But this one was different.
Freed up to take as much time as needed, he and Sheridan recorded each track with the same live band, which would normally take too long to coordinate. It was worth the wait, Young says, giving his new work the cohesive sound of a live concert performance. But it touches a wide range of thematic ground.
“There’s just a big mix of what I think makes a great country record,” Young explains. “There’s drinking songs, there’s party songs, there’s some really, really touchy stuff, there’s some stuff that’s stripped down as far as instrumentation. There’s a little bit of everything on there, and growing up, listening to a full record, that was what I always wanted.”
Some, like the first single “Til the Last One Dies,” he calls a “really beautiful love song, first-dance-at-your-wedding type thing.” Others, like the title track, “I Didn’t Come Here to Leave,” feature a growling vocal and plenty of up-all-night energy. But it also speaks to his dedication to country tradition and how he won’t give that up, regardless of how the mainstream evolves.
“I don’t necessarily think being termed a traditional vocalist means you aren’t relevant, but you don’t want to get too in your head on that,” he says. “Just make some great music and hopefully people are attracted to that.”
He’s had that philosophy since growing up in what was then a sleepy Rutherford County and still feels tied to his hometown — even as it changes.
“You definitely have to pick your spots now, and locals all have their own opinion, but I love seeing the city grow and change,” he says. “And I love still having some of the spots that I go to that are old, local spots. No, I’m not going to say which ones they are [laughs], but I love the fact that those still exist, and they aren’t all gone.
“This is my home. This is where I grew up, and I love the whole Nashville area,” he goes on. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” Home actually shows up a few times on I Didn’t Come Here to Leave. In the emotional, vocally rangy “Just Keep Living,” Young tributes his dad, who fought and beat cancer. And with the striding, feel-good singalong “There’s just a big mix of what I think makes a great country record,” Young explains. “There’s drinking songs, there’s party songs, there’s some really, really touchy stuff, there’s some stuff that’s stripped down as far as instrumentation. There’s a little bit of everything on there, and growing up, listening to a full record, that was what I always wanted.” Some, like the first single “Til the Last One Dies,” he calls a “really beautiful love song, first-dance-at-your-wedding type thing.” Others, like the title track, “I Didn’t Come Here to Leave,” feature a growling vocal and plenty of up-all-night energy. But it also speaks to his dedication to country tradition and how he won’t give that up, regardless of how the mainstream evolves. “Jesus, Momma, Country Radio,” he calls out his biggest life influences.
“I put a song about my dad on the record. If I didn’t add my mom in there somewhere, she’d probably throw something at me,” Young jokes. “Those three things shaped a lot of who I am, how I grew up. My grandfather was a Church of Christ elder. … [And my mom] was a single parent for a long time, raising me and my sister. I think just seeing her resolve and how she handled raising both of us from a very young age, not really understanding all the sacrifices she was making to make sure we had what we needed, because we didn’t have a whole lot, and we didn’t know it.” Elsewhere, tunes like “I Feel a Cold One Coming On” feature the twangy backbeat of a dancehall anthem, and Young has a different sort of cold one lined up this winter — his first ever holiday tour.
With 15 shows between November 20 and December 20, It Must Be Christmas – An Acoustic Evening With Chris Young has been a long time in the making. He recorded his It Must Be Christmas album back in 2016 but never did a tour (even though his voice and style scream “Country Christmas”). This year, he’ll finally work up a set of standards and surprises — and maybe even something new — relying only on “a couple guitars and some piano,” plus that spirit-lifting voice.
“Stripping it down goes perfectly with Christmas songs, it really does,” Young admits. “I had people ask me for it for a long time. I love the holiday season. I love Christmastime, and I just think it’s a perfect thing for me to go do and test it out; see if everybody enjoys it.”
Like his love of music overall, Young’s Christmas-tune joy goes way back. He even got in trouble as a child, for singing Alan Jackson’s “Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas)” in the aisles at his BI-LO grocery store. But right now, he’s thinking in the present tense, and I Didn’t Come Here to Leave is his mantra. Whatever comes next, he won’t forget its lesson.
“I came here hoping to have one hit,” he admits. “I’ve been lucky enough to be around for a lot longer than most people ever get a chance to … so I’m not going anywhere.”