Chris Young Celebrates 11th No. 1 Single With “Hangin’ On”

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Pictured (L-R): ASCAP songwriter Corey Crowder, BMI songwriter Chris Young and SESAC songwriter Josh Hoge celebrate their No. 1 song, “Hangin’ On.” (Photo: Steve Lowry)

When Chris Young and a throng of industry well-wishers gathered to celebrate his 11th No. 1 single, “Hangin’ On,” in the lobby of BMI’s Nashville office on April 29, the location was especially meaningful for the two-time Grammy-nominated singer.

“I don’t think you guys realize this is the first building I wrote a song in,” Young told the crowd, pointing to a hallway just off the building’s main foyer. “Right down that hallway, I came up with something that might have been pretty terrible at the time but it was my first one.”

Young, a BMI writer, co-wrote “Hangin’ On” with Corey Crowder (ASCAP) and Josh Hoge (SESAC); the trio has proved a winning combination, have co-written some of Young’s most memorable hits including “I’m Coming Over” and “Think Of You.”

“Standing on this stage with both of these guys, Corey Crowder and Josh Hoge, until the day we die, I’ll love y’all,” Young said. “You are my brothers as well as my writing partners. Ups, downs, whatever. If you need me, you call me. I’m so honored to have a song with two guys who are as talented as the both of you.”

ASCAP’s Mike Sistad feted Crowder, while BMI’s MaryAnn Keen celebrated Young and SESAC’s Shannan Hatch honored Hoge.

Publishers celebrating the chart-topper included Liz Rose (Liz Rose Music), Josh Van Valkenburg (Sony/ATV Music Publishing) and Kent Earls (Universal Music Publishing Group). Pinnacle Bank’s David Smith stated the company would be making a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on behalf of the songwriters.

Young also thanked Sony Music and RCA Nashville for their support.

“Thank you so very much for believing in this song and getting it out there. People don’t realize how many hours you spend, with me texting you at 8 p.m. going ‘Hey Dennis [Reese], are we down a spin at After Midnite?’ which I probably shouldn’t be texting you about but I do. I’ve been told, ‘It’s really cool that you understand that and it really sucks that you understand that.’ Thank you for fighting for this song and making it a No. 1.”

“Hangin’ On” marks the second single from Young’s 2017 album Losing Sleep and Young’s fifth consecutive chart-topping song.

“I don’t always bring this up a whole lot, but there have been multiple times in my life where I’ve almost died, and you really have to understand that these moments are special. We do this a lot on Music Row, we come and stand in a room, and talk about a song being No. 1,” he said, growing emotional and pausing to compose himself as the crowd clapped.

“You don’t know how many of those moments you’re going to get. There’s no guarantees. This one took a long time to get to, to celebrate this…and there’s probably someone out there right now who’s like, ‘I wish I could step into this building and write a song with somebody and have a song go No. 1 on the charts.’ It’s thanks to you guys that the three of us got the chance to do that.”

(Top Row L-R): RCA Nashville’s Dennis Reese, Sony Music Nashville’s Steve Hodges, ASCAP’s Mike Sistad, Sony ATV’s Josh Van Valkenburg, BMI’s MaryAnn Keen, SESAC’s Shannan Hatch, Universal Music Publishing Group’s Kent Earls and Fitzgerald Hartley’s Larry Fitzgerald. (Bottom Row L-R): Fitzgerald Hartley’s Bill Simmons, Liz Rose Music’s Liz Rose, ASCAP songwriter Corey Crowder, BMI songwriter and RCA Nashville recording artist Chris Young and SESAC songwriter Josh Hoge. (Photo: Steve Lowry)

Jessica Nicholson
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