Chase Bryant on Gaining Fans, Radio Airplay: ‘It’s Just a Great Feeling’

Chase Bryant is working his way up the charts with his debut single, "Take It on Back," from his self-titled album, which was released last year. The singer says that while he is enjoying the song's success, he is still adjusting to becoming a household name.

"I was listening to Kix [Brooks] ... on American Country Countdown, and he was talking about the 'Chase Plate,' my favorite Mexican order at the restaurant back home," he tells Billboard. "I remember listening to Bob Kingsley and Lon Helton growing up, and now when you hear it, you ask yourself, 'Is the radio station playing this, or am I listening to one of my mixes I've been working on?' To hear it on the airwaves is one of those feelings that you don't know whether to cry or what to do. It's just a great feeling."

The Tennessee native is currently crossing the country on his Take It on Back Tour, and while he has always enjoyed singing before a live audience, he says now it's even more meaningful.

"We were in Cincinnati, and it was the first time I had ever heard the song sung back to me," Bryant recalls. "It was in the mid-20s on the charts, and I announced it as my latest single, and the crowd just started screaming before we ever started playing the song. The place was sold out, and I had never sold out a show in my life. It was just one of those things, when you hear them sing it back, you just know the timing was right. It makes you go 100 percent harder. You don't want to get off stage when people are doing that."

Bryant may still be a new artist, but he insists he has plenty more to share with his loyal fans.

“This is the first chapter of my book, and I think people will find it defines where they’re at just as much as it defines where I’m at — because we’re the same — I’m just the guy with the guitar,” he says. “If I wasn’t, I’d be the guy on the front row with his arm around his girl raising a glass to the guy onstage. No question. It’s just who I am. Music is everything.”

Download Chase Bryant here.

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