Chris Young has 4 nominations going into next weekend’s ACM Awards–for Album, and Single of the Year. Chris gets nods as not only the artist, but as the producer as well. This was Chris’ first turn in the producer chair for one of his albums, but he knew it was the right time, and was even more sure of the move after he met Corey Crowder, who is also nominated as the album’s co-producer. Making this move was not a sure bet, especially since Chris started paying for this album himself, and then when it was half-way done, we took it to his label. It was a new and exciting way for him to create music, and Chris says now wearing the hat of producer puts “another tool in his toolbox.”

  Chris Young talks about how he was introduced to Cory Crowder. (1:16)
“Being a producer on a project is a lot different and I think one of the things that made it really easy and really seem less and how this all got started was when I first started writing with Cory Crowder and Josh Hoge. Josh and I had been friends for a long time, he had said ‘man we need to write we need to write.’ I was like ‘yeah we do, yeah we do.’ It’s like the Nashville handshake, you can say that and then it never happens. So I finally worked it up with him and was like man we need to do this, and he goes ‘man I’m writing with my buddy Cory who I think you would love.’ He goes ‘come in on this song.’ We wrote and Cory is a really really talented track guy. What that means if people don’t know what that is–basically him sitting in front of the computer he could make you a finished demo of a song really quickly. Because he plays several instruments and knows his way around a lot of pro tools and different things of that nature, and has a lot of recording capabilities at his place. And when we first started getting stuff he and I start going back and forth on man I really like this 16th note tick tock thing going on here, I want to bring this up and this down, I like this EQ. And I was like, ‘man what do you think about coming in, and you and me producing this next project’ because I loved what we were getting writing and I didn’t want to lose the feel of what we had so far on the project and he was like ‘dude I would totally be down.'”

  Chris Young admits that at the start of it, his I’m Comin’ Over album was a big risk. (:60)
“We went into it a little bit different. I was just like look, here we are going to go in and cut six. Cut the first half of the record and I’m just going to front the money for it. So, then we will play it for the label and if they OK it then great, and they will take it. Otherwise I was willing to put the money up there to do that because it was so different. It was just a whole new process, different guys in the studio. Showing up and staying late a lot more. I’ve heard every lick played on this record, whether it is a random drum fill or it is a random bass part deciding between them…everything, I’ve heard top to bottom. And it’s so fun being out at the end of it because I’ve got a guy who’s not only a really really good friend but also a guy who made it really really easy in Cory Crowder going hey we produced this record together we made this from top to bottom.”

  Chris Young believes that his I’m Comin’ Over album was the next step of the evolution of his career. (:23)
“It’s just I think the next step for me as far as who I want to be. Another tool in the toolbox, so to speak, of not just being the songwriter and the vocalist but also being the producer and I think there is just more control on starting with that blank sheet of paper going all the way to when people press play on a single.”