Chris Young Ends Busy Week With Release of ‘Losing Sleep’

To say that Chris Young has had a busy week is a bit of an understatement. While on tour with Jason Aldean, the 32-year old country crooner announced his Losing Sleep World Tour 2018,  was inducted as the newest (and youngest) member of the the Grand Ole Opry, and ended the week with the release of his highly anticipated seventh studio album Losing Sleep (10/20), where he kicked off the event by going live via Facebook at midnight – champagne in hand and his road family by his side.

Said to have been a few years in the making and one that Young is extremely proud of, Losing Sleep is the second co-production for Corey Crowder (RCA) and Young, and the first time in Young’s career where he has co-written all ten tracks.  The lead single “Losing Sleep”, a stray from Young’s traditional country style that resulted in mixed reviews with some fans, has been gaining strength, sitting comfortably at #19 on Billboard Country Charts.  Slated as the first song, the title track sets the perfect tone for an album that has broadened the spectrum of style and substance for Young musically, but stays in the confines of what fans look for: songs from the fun and flirty, sinful and sexy, to the heartache and sadness that they’ve grown accustomed to.

Take “Radio In The Rain”, co-written by Young, Crowder and Josh Hoge for instance.  With creative songwriting, steady drum beats, and bit of drum stick tapping, a storm’s wrath leads to a very steamy evening for a couple inside a car on a deserted road:

I don’t see nothing but your silhouette
Illuminated by the panel on my dash, it’s got you back-lit
And the way we’re fogging up the windows
Guess it’s a pretty good thing we’re parked out on some no name back road

While it’s quite evident what’s taking place, it’s Young’s vocals that start at a hauntingly low register then rise at the chorus, that create this stormy scene of lust.

The album ends on another masterpiece in regards to songwriting and production. Co-written by Young, Hoge and Jon Randall, “Blacked Out” is a solemn tune of heartache and the pain one feels, all done with the brilliant use of metaphors:

I’m blacked out
Like Elvis in 1968
Like Johnny Cash any given day
Like a Mach 1 Fastback Mustang
I’m blacked out
Like the clouds hangin’ over this heart of mine
These Raybans cover in’ up my eyes
Not a shadow of a doubt, I’m blacked out

The solo acoustic sound is stellar from start to finish. Young’s crisp vocals mixed with soft background vocals will give listeners the feel of being in a darkened arena with only lights from cell phones and a single spotlight on Young as he stands on the stage, giving this song the goosebump performance it deserves.  Pure magic.

The attraction of music, and specifically any of Chris Young’s music, is his penchant for love songs. But fans that follow him know that he tends to dab into his flirtatious side and they won’t be disappointed to find a few of these on the album.  For example, in “Hangin’ On” a guy can’t stop watching a girl he’s mesmerized by and is feeling like: “It ain’t the song, and it ain’t the playlist/ It’s every smile coming off of your sweet lips, yeah/ That makes me wanna stay here”.  There’s the uptempo infectious tune “Trouble Looking”, where the girls are doing the flirting, but as much as he knows that’s what she’s up to, he can’t help but give in: “Kind of smile that leads to something we shouldn’t be doing/ I can tell by the way you’re laughing/ you’re trouble looking for a place to happen”.

If it’s love songs you want/need, Young obviously has you covered. “Woke Up Like This”, co-written by Young, Crowder, and Hoge is a romantic song about a couple waking up after the perfect night together, reminiscing and not wanting to lose that feeling:

Yeah, I can’t help but love this feeling I can’t get enough
Of looking at you with that sleepy little smile on your face
Girl, you got a way
With a touch, you can get to me
This morning is like a dream
Maybe the only thing better than all night long with you is
That we woke up like this

With soft drum beats and great guitar solo midway through,  it’s Young’s vocals that remain clear and powerful in his higher registers that create the perfect picture of a romantic morning.

One of the most remarkable things about a Chris Young love song is his vocals, so you can expect a ballad that is drenched in his baritone voice, reaching from the depth of his soul to sing a heartbreaking tune. Five tracks into the album you’ll find that song. “Where I Go When I Drink”, co-written by Young, Tyler Reeve, and Trent Tomlinson is one of the purest, rawest tunes on the album.  After a couple breaks up, a man poignantly details how his sadness is overwhelmed by the thoughts of the breakup when he drinks:

Drink one drop, you flood my mind like a river goodbye
And I’m standing at the end of the drive
Your tail lights fading into the night
Screamin’ your name in the pourin’ down rain
Watching you leave us behind
So I don’t go out on the town
All the whiskey I had I poured out
My heart needs time to get over you and me
And that’s where I go when I drink

Lyrically and musically it’s a masterpiece from beginning to end and Young’s baritone, breathy vocals only lend credibility to the pain of the song’s subjects.

Over the ten tracks of Losing Sleep, Young continues to venture out in his style and production, but does so while keeping true what has made him the man he is today:  his voice. And those love songs.

Young has also partnered with Cracker Barrel Old Country Store for a 5-part docu-series on life on the road of the singer and is also selling a special edition CD at stores. Check out their YouTube Channel for the series which will end in early November.

For more information on Chris Young and his upcoming tour visit his website: www.chrisyoungmusic.com

Losing Sleep Track List

1. Losing Sleep – Young, Chris DeStefano, Josh Hoge
2. Hangin’ On – Young, Corey Crowder, Josh Hoge
3. Holiday – Young, Cary Barlowe, Johnny Bulford, Corey Crowder, Josh Hoge
4. Radio in The Rain – Young, Corey Crowder, Josh Hoge
5. Where I Go When I Drink – Young, Tyler Reeve, Trent Thomlinson
6. She’s Got A Way – Young, Cary Barlowe, Corey Crowder
7. Leave Me Wanting More – Young, Corey Crowder, John Pierce
8. Trouble Looking – Young, Corey Crowder, Liz Rose
9. Woke Up Like This – Young, Corey Crowder, Josh Hoge
10. Blacked Out – Young, Josh Hoge, Jon Randall