Chris Young started his career when his self-titled debut came out on RCA Records in 2006. Now another chapter begins with the arrival of his 10th album, I Didn’t Come Here to Leave, his first for Black River.
His final RCA project, Young Love & Saturday Nights, landed in March 2024; its title track topped the chart the following September.
Even though he didn’t quite understand it, Chris couldn’t seem to stop making new music.
“I was like, ‘What am I doing? I’ve got a record out. We’d just had a #1. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m just continuing to write more and more songs,'” he recalls.
Once his RCA deal was up and he started exploring other opportunities, it started to make sense.
“I had most of this album teed up, ready to go,” he explains. “I definitely rerecorded all of the demos that I had. I normally just do three or four passes, but on this record, I spent a whole lot of time just making sure we got it right, even if it was a single word.”
Ultimately, Chris believes some divine intervention might’ve played a part.
“It is sort of a God thing,” he reflects. “It was like upstairs knew I needed this music and I was just being pushed to create. And I was like, ‘I’m gonna to take January, February, and March off this year.’ Nope, that did not happen.”
In the end, he couldn’t be happier with the collection, which features his current hit, “Til the Last One Dies.”
“This album just sort of came together in such a cool way that it just feels right,” Chris says. “I’ve used this quote, ‘Art’s never finished or completed. It’s only abandoned.’ I feel like this record was completed.”
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