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Fresh off the most successful album of his prolific career, I’m Comin’ Over, which earned him a #1 debut and numerous industry accolades, Chris Young says he kept getting asked the same question about his hotly anticipated follow up: “Are you feeling the pressure?” But in truth, he wasn’t. Back in the co-producer’s chair with Corey Crowder for the second time (third if you count the 2016 holiday classic, It Must Be Christmas), Young felt completely at ease working on his seventh studio album, Losing Sleep. “I would argue there was less pressure,” says the star, who was just inducted as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry. “We were even more comfortable than we were last time, and instead of it being like ‘We have to nail this,’ now it was like ‘OK, we did something really cool last time. Let’s try and build on that.’” Young is no stranger to building on success. Over his nearly 12 years with RCA Nashville, he’s steadily taken on more and more responsibility with each project, writing a few more songs each time, staying immersed in his craft and eventually taking the reins completely. With his last project, I’m Comin’ Over, the Tennessee native funneled his wide range of influences into a sound that miXed reverence for country’s past with a sense of eXcitement about its future – and it connected with fans like never before. “I’m Comin’ Over,” “Think of You” (featuring Cassadee Pope), and “Sober Saturday Night” (featuring Vince Gill) all reached the top of the country radio charts, while the first two singles from the project have both earned Platinum-record status. In total, that brings Young up to ten Number Ones and 17 Gold or Platinum certifications, helping to rake in nominations from the Academy of Country Music, Billboard Music Awards, Country Music Association, and The Recording Academy, while also leading to a massive, twice-extended headlining tour. In short, I’m Comin’ Over was like an artistic wake up call for where Young’s brand of country could go, and Losing Sleep finds him eXpanding that horizon. Traditional themes fuse with streetwise urban flair, all welded together by one of the current genre’s most classic voices. “I think the experimentation I did on the last record was the most I had really done,” he admits. “So with this one it was about continuing that. There’s stuff like ‘Losing Sleep’ – which is really different sonically from a lot of things in my catalog – and there are going to be things that feel more familiar, too. Each song has a unique vibe and life to it.” Like much of Young’s previous work, Losing Sleep, which opened at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and produced his 10th chart-topping single, is largely focused on romance in all its forms, because as Young says with a laugh: “There’s so much you can write about love – falling into it, falling out of it, making it. … Not to mention the love of tequila.” But despite a few new additions to his musical palate, longtime fans shouldn’t worry. There’s really only one way for Chris Young to sound, and that’s country. Citing the genre’s history, variety, and emotional intelligence, Young says he’s still primarily influenced by classic country icons like Keith Whitley (who he continues to cover in concert), Alan Jackson (who appeared on last year’s It Must Be Christmas), Marty Robbins, and more. “If you just listened to my music on its face, you might not make those connections,” he admits. “But I have to make my own music. I’m classically trained and I can sing in multiple languages, I sang jazz and I love all styles of music, so it’s fun for me to be able to step out. But at the same time, I don’t know what else I would do besides country, and I don’t want to do anything else.” When it came time to create Losing Sleep, Young says he was feeling more inspired than ever before. Working toward his third album in under two years, he co-wrote every single song for the first time in a remarkable show of creative force, and has scored outside cuts including Kane Brown’s “Comeback” in the process. There are new collaborators involved on Losing Sleep with high-profile names like Liz Rose and Jon Randall, but a big part of the easiness Young was feeling stems from his continued work with a core group of tunesmiths. Of 10 tracks on the album, all but one are credited to some combination of Young, Crowder, and Josh Hoge. “We’re just really close, and that’s one of the things that puts everybody at ease,” Young says. “In an hour and a half co-write we might still spend 15 minutes telling stupid jokes, and I think that – as much as anything else – is why it’s working right now.” Taking that friends-first approach into the studio, Young says the team understood eXactly what he wanted, and then stumbled upon a few special moments during the recording itself – another sign of their comfortable creative freedom. “We had a plan,” he explains, “and it never felt like we were trying to force anything. The progression we took felt very comfortable, like ‘OK, this is a little different but it’s where I need to grow,’ and the places where we stayed the same were ‘Man, this is eXactly where this song should be.’ I know some people have a different method, but it’s never contentious with us. It’s always just really laid back, and that seems to be when I dig in – when it’s like ‘This feels good. This is chill.’” Marrying hot-and-heavy beats to a romantically charged, pure-country chorus – and putting Young’s brawny-yet-sensitive baritone on blast – the album’s Gold-certified lead single and title track is one of those bold steps out. But it also taps back into the lusty, irresistible desire of hits like “I’m Comin’ Over.” “’Losing Sleep’ is a seXy song, and that’s a hallmark of mine if you look back,” Young says with pride. “Once every so often, there’s gonna be a sexy song in there, and this one is unabashedly passionate.” Co-written by Young with Chris DeStefano and Hoge, it’s also the most forward-leaning track on the album – but his eXperimentation didn’t end there. On “Holiday,” he teamed up with Cary Barlowe, Johnny Bulford and Crowder to dip a toe in the unfamiliar waters of a true summertime jam. From the first taste of its swaying R&B beat and sunny steel guitar, it’s a bona fide mood changer … and one that shares an instant-classic component with “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song).” “We were in Florida so we were like ‘Let’s write something that’s got a vacation vibe to it,’” Young explains. “I think from the jump, having that line at the top of the chorus takes you there immediately – ‘You make me wanna make a margarita’ – you could call it ‘The Margarita Song.’” Wrapped up deep in a bed of modern-country production, “Woke Up Like This” is the flip side of the “Losing Sleep” coin, eXploring the sweeter side of passion. “You’re just basking in being in love with someone,” says Young. “It’s not so much in the seXy vibe, it’s just telling that person ‘You’re perfect, and one of the best parts of my day is rolling over and seeing your face in the morning.’” “Radio And The Rain” puts the listener in the middle of an emotional downpour, while newest single, “Hangin’ On,” transforms a clever turn of phrase into an uptempo she’s-with-me anthem. Meanwhile, “Blacked Out” was a late addition to the set. Featuring a simple arrangement of acoustic and electric guitars, Young’s wounded vocal takes center stage for a stripped-down descent into heartbreak so painful no amount of self-medication can mend it. “I love the imagery,” he explains. “It’s a nod to feeling about as sad as you can get, and it’s called ‘Blacked Out,’ so it should be a little dark and sad.” Likewise, “Where I Go When I Drink” takes “sad song” to the eXtreme, pushing Young to ever-higher reaches – vocally and emotionally. “This one is so moving,” he says. “I love piano ballads and ‘Where I Go When I Drink’ is especially vibey. And when you really get a hold of a great one, man, they are so much fun to sing.” Still only 32 years old, Chris Young has now given his fans seven studio albums in 11 years. That’s a blistering pace by any measure, but what’s even more impressive is the simple fact that there’s so much time left to keep creating, and keep evolving. With Losing Sleep, Young sounds like an artist in the prime of his life – one with clarity of purpose and the drive to make his eXtraordinary efforts seem easy. But in truth, this album may just be the tip of the creative iceberg. He thinks of it like a snapshot of who he is at this very moment, and this moment alone. So take it in, there’s much more to come. “Every album you make as an artist, you want to continue to grow,” he explains.

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