With a knowledge base now in both traditional and modern country, along with contemporary pop, Brown was ready to stretch his creative wings. Then, as he continued his music discovery, Brown found his muse: Chris Young, with whom heвЂ™s since collaborated on the popular track вЂњFamous Friends.вЂќ ItвЂ™s this multi-faceted foundation that has led him to be such a versatile artist, one capable of crooning like Garth Brooks and nimbly maneuvering on a track like a more conventional pop star. And in high school, Brown rekindled his appreciation for country-artists like Sam Hunt and Florida Georgia Line. He began to dive into the world of dance songs and hip-hop tracks. Brown remembers in eighth grade listening to the music of the rapper Soulja Boy. The Usher album that he loved most? The smooth singerвЂ™s 2004 LP Confessions. вЂњThen sixth grade happened, and a dude named Usher came out.вЂќ вЂњI listened to nothing but country until about sixth grade,вЂќ he says. For Brown, that love affair first began in country music and then later grew to R&B and other styles. Such a move can only take place, though, when a burgeoning artist has a wealth of experience with music, and more specifically, in a particular genre of it. With a new career beginning to pop off, Brown began to embrace the idea of writing his own songs, too. Major attention came when Brown began posting cover songs on social media, specifically on Facebook, around 2014, including a version of Lee BriceвЂ™s вЂњI DonвЂ™t Dance.вЂќ After a few years of posting videos, they eventually began to go viral and earned him tens of thousands of followers. Once I did the talent show and heard everybodyвЂ™s cheers-they made me do another song. вЂњAnd I started singing and this dude convinced me to do the talent show. But his path to recognition in music began mostly by accident. He played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track.

(Brown is multiracial and identifies as Black.) While music was integral in helping him through, so too were sports. He also, amidst an early life of poverty and at times homelessness, endured racial slurs. That was his вЂњescape.вЂќ Later, heвЂ™d star in school plays. In middle school, he would wear headphones on the bus. In it, he was listening to Tim McGraw and kicking his feet in the air. He remembers a video his mother took of him as a baby in the back of her Camaro in the mid-вЂ™90s. He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1993, and he grew up spending time between rural Georgia and the Volunteer State. IвЂ™m working to set them up in the future.вЂќДЇor Brown, his love affair with songs began early-even if his success took some time to manifest. I love that I get to give them a life I never got to have.

I tell her every time I come downstairs, вЂYouвЂ™re Superwoman.вЂ™ ThereвЂ™s no way I can wake up that early. вЂњI love my family to death,вЂќ Brown tells American Songwriter. Now, though, Brown, who is currently at work on his third solo LP, is as sought-after as it gets. For the standout songwriter and performer, life initially began tumultuous and precarious-as a kid, his family spent time homeless. They are also the ingredients that comprise BrownвЂ™s career to date.

Every morning at home when he comes downstairs to see his family, he makes sure to tell his wife that sheвЂ™s вЂњSuperwoman.вЂќ Humility, sincerity, appreciation-these are the traits of an artist who will assuredly have a lasting, even multi-decade career. He likes hanging out with friends at lake houses and admiring classic cars. But thatвЂ™s as far from the truth as could be. One might presume, therefore, that Brown is on top of the world and in need of nothing else, nor anyoneвЂ™s help. HeвЂ™s earned multiple platinum record certifications, millions of fans, and more accolades than could fit in a 10-gallon cowboy hat. Today, country singer Kane Brown is one of the biggest names in popular music.

Man covers usher there goes my baby