With a multi-week #1 like “Famous Friends,” Chris Young reveals there was little debate over what his long-awaited new album would be called. Throw in some special guests, and the deal was sealed.

“When we are having the conversation…” Chris recalls, “I was like, ‘Well, there’s more guest appearances than I’ve ever had on one project before, if you go down and you look at Lauren Alaina, Kane [Brown], then obviously Mitchell Tenpenny on “At the End of a Bar.”‘”

But for Chris, it was really more than that.

“I was like, that’s kind of a cool way to talk about that this record really is a culmination of all the people that I’ve met and run into,” he explains, “and everybody during the craziness that’s been the past year-and-a-half kinda putting their arms around this project… putting my arms around them and huddling up and going, ‘Okay, let’s make some great music.'”

Chris isn’t too proud to admit that adding other stellar vocalists also forces him to up his game.

“The whole time, I’m like, ‘You better not mess this up because people are gonna notice…'” he confesses. “And especially a song that ends up being vocally challenging is always fun for me.”

“Even if it’s [when] I’ve got one of those days where I’m on the road and you’ve like been out for months…” he continues, “It’s like, ‘Why did I do this to myself again? Why did I make this so high?’ Who cares? Because they’re fun to sing. And I do like standing on a stage next to someone that’s as vocally talented as… Lauren.”

Famous Friends is out now, and also features background vocals by Dan + Shay‘s Shay Mooney, who co-wrote the track “Town Ain’t Big Enough.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.