TV turns out the stars, makes for Chris Young’s “best year”

TV shows such as American Idol and Nashville Star have officially made an indelible mark on country music.


Idol’s influence, in particular can be heard on country radio, seen on country video channels coast to coast, and felt at award presentations from the ACMs to the CMAs to the Grammys.


While the shows have already made their presence known at the Grand Ole Opry on more than one occasion, the Opry stage is set to welcome more winners and runners-up than ever as the show returns to the Opry House after a winter run at the historic Ryman Auditorium downtown.


2005 American Idol (and now ACM, CMA, Grammy, American Music Awards, Billboard, and insert dozens of other organizations and award bestowers here) winner Carrie Underwood returns to the stage she first graced just 15 days after bringing home Idol gold two years ago on March 2.


2006 Idol finalist and new Lyric Street recording artist Bucky Covington makes his Grand Ole Opry Live debut April 7.


The 2007 still-to-be-revealed winner of Nashville Star (whoever he or she may be) will list an Opry appearance among his/her first appearances, part of the Star prize package which also includes a Warner Bros. record deal.


And the guy who could probably best tell that winner what to expect during his/her first year as a full-fledged star, 2006 winner Chris Young, makes an Opry return April 6.


If the 2007 winner’s year is anything like the last twelve months of Young’s life have been, it’ll be an incredible ride. “I know it sounds cliché, but this is still just amazing to me,” Young says. “I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do. I got to play Leno. I’ve been on the Opry. I was able to have my grandparents backstage on my first night on the Opry. Sometimes after you’ve worked so hard for something you feel like it’s never gonna happen. And then it does. This has probably been the best year of my life.”


In addition to the company he’s kept in LA with Jay Leno and at the Opry with his grandparents, Young was particularly pleased with his company atop the country charts when his self-titled album debuted last fall. “The album debuted at number three and I was excited,” Young recalls. But the RCA recording artist says he was just excited to look higher on the charts to find two of his heroes, George Strait and Alan Jackson. “That was really, really cool.”


Young’s advice for this year’s winner: “work as hard as possible.”


It’s advice he’s following himself as he works toward greater success. He’s on the road well into the foreseeable future and visiting radio stations across the country in support of his second single, “You’re Gonna Love Me,” a tune he delivered on Opry Live in October.


Along the way, he says, he’d love to earn a gold record and continue turning people on to his music. “I plan on working as much as I can,” he says.


He’s had the best year of his life, and he doesn’t want to stop now.


by Dan Rogers