Top 5 Brett Young Songs
Brett Young made a big splash with his self-titled debut album in 2017. The album spawned a slew of No. 1 songs, including "In Case You Didn't Know," "Sleep Without You" and "Mercy."
With his sophomore album, Ticket to L.A, the rising country star was out to prove that his freshman album's success wasn't just luck. From its title track -- a story of romance found in an airport -- to its lead single, "Here Tonight," the project continued Young's track record of pop- and R&B-influenced love songs, all sung in his incredibly smooth voice.
There's no doubt that Young has more hits in the future; in fact, it's been about two and a half years since the release of Ticket to L.A., so he's due to release new music soon. For now, though, these are The Boot's picks for his Top 5 songs.
- 5
"Like I Loved You"
From: 'Brett Young' (2017)Young released "Like I Loved You" in July of 2017, the third single from his self-titled debut album. In the song, Young laments a former flame, noting how their breakup conversation makes him think she never quite loved him as much as he loved her. The song struck a chord with country fans, hitting the top spot on the Billboard Country Airplay chart and No. 3 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Young co-wrote "Like I Loved You" with Jesse Lee.
- 4
"Ticket to L.A."
From: 'Ticket to L.A.' (2018)The title track to Young's 2018 sophomore album, "Ticket to L.A." is a catchy song about finding love in an airport terminal. In the upbeat tune, Young sings about deciding to miss his own flight to buy some extra time with a girl he's hitting it off with: "It was midnight in the middle of JFK / Tryna take her mind off the fallin' rain / I was sayin' anything to make her laugh / Never wanted anything so bad / She got me wishin' that she could stay / Doesn't even know that I missed my plane / Now there ain't a single thing I wouldn't trade / For a ticket to LA ..." Young co-wrote "Ticket to L.A." with Zach Crowell and Jon Nite.
- 3
"Mercy"
From: 'Brett Young' (2017)Young's platinum-certified "Mercy" was the fourth single off of the singer’s self-titled debut album, and became his third No. 1 in a row. In an ironic twist of fate, Young says that he headed into the session during which he wrote the song thinking that he'd be writing something uptempo, at his label's request.
"The reason why I like "Mercy" so much is because, while I haven't lived [that story] exactly, I have lived multiple versions of that," Young shares. "There are so many different versions of heartbreak. I think it's vague enough that it could be anybody's story."
- 2
"Sleep Without You"
From: 'Brett Young' (2017)Young's debut single, "Sleep Without You," shows off his sexy, sensual side. The singer wrote the track, which can be found on both his eponymous first EP with Big Machine Label Group and his self-titled debut album, with Justin Ebach and Kelly Archer.
"I had been in LA, visiting family and friends, listening to pop radio, and I heard all these songs in a row about a dude trying to sleep with a girl. I thought, 'There has to be a sweet twist on that subject, somehow,'" Young shares of the feel-good inspiration behind the song. "I just started thinking about, my last relationship was six years. We never lived together, but we always did the goodnight phone call or text. When that becomes a habit, you find yourself restless, trying to go to sleep without the goodnight phone call or text."
He continues, "I thought that was way sweeter than 'let’s get busy.' I brought [Ebach and Archer] the idea for "Sleep Without You," and it was a quick write."
- 1
"In Case You Didn't Know"
From: 'Brett Young' (2017)Young earned a No. 1 hit -- his first -- with "In Case You Didn't Know." He co-wrote the song in Mexico, on a songwriters' retreat, with Trent Tomlinson and Tyler Reeve.
"Trent started telling a story about his childhood: He said when he was a kid, every time he would leave the house, his mom would stop him on his way out the door, and she’d say, 'Trent, in case you didn’t know, I love you,'" Young recalls, continuing, "We wanted everybody to be able to make it their love story, so we just kept it really simple and said what we would like to say the person that we love, or we would like to hear back from the person that we love."