No. 1 Party: Romance Tops The Charts On Brett Young’s “In Case You Didn’t Know”

During a time when uptempo, rock-tinged tracks dominate the country airwaves, Brett Young‘s gentle, R&B-inflected ballad “In Case You Didn’t Know,” gripped the chart pinnacle for two weeks. That feat was celebrated during a party held Monday, July 17 at the newly-opened FGL House, created in downtown Nashville by Young’s BMLG labelmates Florida Georgia Line.

“In Case You Didn’t Know” marked the first No. 1 song for Young’s co-writers Trent Tomlinson, Tyler Reeve and Kyle Schlienger. It was Young’s second chart-topper, following “Sleep Without You.”

Young, Tomlinson, Reeve and Schlienger penned the romantic ballad during a songwriting retreat in Puerto Vallerta, Mexico, in June 2015. For Young, that writing retreat yielded multiple benefits. Not only were his first two No. 1 hits, “Sleep Without You” and “In Case You Didn’t Know,” written during that trip, but he also signed the first draft of his recording contract with Big Machine Label Group during his stay.

The launch the celebration, black-and-white footage of the writing and demo recording sessions for “In Case You Didn’t Know” was shown, as the writers grappled with setting the perfect marriage of words, rhyme, melody and message.

Big Machine Music’s Mike Molinar praised the behind-the-scenes footage. “That video shows how incredible the whole songwriting process happens. Watching you put together those melodies and all of you jumping in and nipping and tucking every word, that is the magic of what you do. Brett, I’m honored to be your publisher, but I’m particularly honored to be part of this song. It’s an instant classic. By every metric, whether it’s airplay, sales, streams, total consumption, fan engagement, this is one best songs of the year, and it’s going to be in the pantheon of the all-time greatest country love songs.”

Big Machine Label Group founder and CEO Scott Borchetta was transparent in his bid for “In Case You Didn’t Know” to be in the running for CMA’s Single and Song of the Year categories. The first round of voting is now open for CMA members.

“When Mike Molinar came in and said we are going to pay for these writers to go down to Puerto Vallerta, I wasn’t laughing. I was like, ‘Mike, one condition. They better write a hit.’ You win. Not only did they write a hit, they wrote the Song of the Year, and I expect all of you to vote for it.”

BMLG president Jimmy Harnen recalled that Young sent the song to him at 4 a.m. (Harnen displayed the email thread on a video screen during the party to prove it).

Young’s first single, “Sleep Without You,” was certified Gold.

“In Case You Didn’t Know,” has bested that mark, having been certified Platinum, and it is closing in on a double-Platinum certification.

BMLG’s promotion staff went into overdrive just before the No. 1 party, pushing Young’s latest single “Like I Loved You” to become the most-added song in the country on the day of his No. 1 party.

ASCAP’s Beth Brinker and Michael Martin offered Yeti coolers to celebrate ASCAP writer Kyle’s first No. 1, and gave one to ASCAP writer Young as well. Schlienger also serves as Young’s music director and bandleader.

“On Jan. 10 we celebrated his first No. 1 with ‘Sleep Without You’ and now we have the second. That’s like pitching a perfect game,” Martin said.

Brinker shared a humorous anecdote of Schlienger’s journey on the trip to Mexico.

“Kyle had never been out of the country. He was waiting for his passport up until that very morning. He got his passport in the mail that morning. He had never traveled with his rig as a producer. He didn’t have a traveling setup so Kyle put his desktop computer and two speakers in a giant blue suitcase with a blanket in it to go to Mexico.”

BMI’s David Preston was on hand to honor 20-year BMI songwriter Tomlinson and 10-year BMI writer Reeve with their first No. 1 single. BMI presented them with Epiphone guitars and No. 1 mint julep cups to honor their first No. 1 singles. “Hopefully this will be the first of a whole collection,” Preston said.

MusicRow Magazine owner/publisher Sherod Robertson was also on hand to present Young and his co-writers with MusicRow Challenge Coins to commemorate the song going to No. 1 on the MusicRow CountryBreakout Chart.

Others on hand to celebrate the song included the CMA and Country Radio Broadcasters, as well as the song’s producer, three-time CMA Producer of the Year winner Dann Huff and engineer Justin Niebank.

“We wanted to write great songs but we also wanted to go on vacation so we all win,” Young quipped as he took the mic to thank his manager Enzo DeVincenzo, Borchetta, Harnen, Martin, Molinar, his co-writers, and others in his team. “My promo team is the best in the world,” he said to the cheers of the audience. “I’m living the dream. Everybody’s belief and support has been unreal.”