Cassadee Pope Dishes on ‘Summer,’ Celebrating a No. 1 With Chris Young

Summer is already off to a great start for Cassadee Pope. She just released her single and EP, both titled Summer, and she's got a No. 1 song with Chris Young. During a visit to the Taste of Country Nights studio, Pope chatted about both, including how she and Young are celebrating their success.

Pope's Summer EP, released on June 3, is just a sample of what's to come. She wrote three of the four songs on the release, and they all speak to her in different ways and are very "near and dear" to her heart. She speaks especially fondly of "Kisses in Airports," the one track she didn't write, saying she's "obsessed" with it.

“It’s a tearjerker. It’s very powerful," Pope says. "It’s a song about hellos and goodbyes at airports and seeing servicemen and women coming home or leaving and how powerful that is, that emotion is when you see that … And just not to take for granted the people that you’re leaving.”

She's got more to celebrate than just new music, though. "Think of You" with Young also recently went to No. 1, marking Pope's first chart-topper. She admits she "kind of" expected the song to be a hit, but didn't know that it would for sure be a single.

"I first heard the song and I was like, ‘This is amazing.’ I was so excited to be a part of it and wanted it to be a single because I knew it could do big things," Pope explains. "Now, here we are with a No. 1 song.”

To celebrate, Young and Pope took a shot together at a show in Austin. They've also had a drink together at Nashville's Tin Roof, but she's hoping they can really celebrate this week during CMA Fest.

The 2016 CMA Music Festival runs Thursday through Sunday, June 9-12 in downtown Nashville. Can’t make it to Music City? The Taste of Country Music Festival also happens this weekend in New York, followed next week by Country Jam in Colorado and WE Fest in Minnesota this August.

Hear Cassadee Pope on Taste of Country Nights

Sam Alex is the host of Taste of Country Nights radio, a syndicated night show which airs on more than 60 Townsquare Media Group stations nationwide.

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