Chayce Beckham & Crew Celebrate First No. 1 Hit ’23’

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Pictured (L-R): Chris Oglesby, JoJamie Hahr, Kerri Edwards, Chayce Beckham, Ross Copperman, Ken Tucker, Leslie Roberts, Ron Cox and Jon Loba. Photo: Larry McCormack for BMI

Industry members gathered together on Wednesday afternoon (Aug. 28) to celebrate Chayce Beckham’s first No. 1 hit, “23.”

The BMI lobby was abuzz with friends, family, band members and more eager to celebrate the American Idol winner’s achievement. To make the occasion even more special, the crowd gathered around only two seats atop the BMI stage. Joined by the track’s producer, Ross Copperman, Beckham took his seat as the song’s sole writer.

The celebration was hosted by BMI’s Leslie Roberts, who kicked off the event by thanking the attendees for their hard work and showcasing Beckham’s impressive feat saying, “I have worked at BMI for 16 years and never hosted a No. 1 party with a single writer. I am so excited to be able to do that today!”

She continued, “Chayce has become the only artist to ever win [American Idol] by using his own songs. Fast forward to 2024, and ’23’ has amassed over 391 million streams and counting. This song has had an incredible life and it’s still going.”

Stepping onto the stage next was BMG’s Chris Oglesby to tout the artist’s uncanny ability to connect with fans. “Anyone going from working heavy machinery to what he just did is an unbelievable thing,” he said of Beckham’s former occupation. “During Season 19, he connected with viewers because he was one of them. He shared his story unapologetically and he let us in. It was all heart, it was all honesty and it was then that America fell in love with him.”

KP Entertainment’s Kerri Edwards was next in line to speak about Beckham. “This guy has a heart like no other. He got thrown into this town in a whirlwind, and he got a fast lesson on how we do things. Even though it was overwhelming to walk into these meetings not knowing a soul in the room, he still did it every time because he trusted the process and the team. I want to stand up here, with my team, and declare that you are our mission. We are going to keep working hard to make good music.”

Other speakers included Wheelhouse Records’ Ken Tucker, Country Aircheck’s Chuck Aly and Studio Bank’s Ron Cox. Cox shared that Studio Bank had made a special donation to the American Cancer Society in honor of the artist.

Lastly, it was time for Copperman and Beckham to speak. “This guy is a brother from another time in my life, and I love him so very much. Thank you guys for letting me be a part of this song,” Copperman said.

“I can’t thank you guys enough. This changed my life. I am trying really hard to say this without breaking down into tears, but when I moved to town I had nothing but a contract and a little money that I had already spent,” Beckham shared with a laugh. “I was just a blue collar worker from a blue collar family. All of you guys in this room, because of all that you have done, have changed my life. Thank you so much.”

John Nix Arledge
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