Chris Janson’s ‘Buy Me a Boat’ Album to Drop This October

Chris Janson’s debut album is coming, and the “Buy Me a Boat” singer says it will include one of his famous friends. During a conversation backstage at the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday night, Janson summed up his feelings on the album in one word: Grateful.

Six years and two record label deals came and went before Janson caught fire unexpectedly this spring and summer. “Buy Me a Boat” was released independently at the urging of his wife Kelly, who told him his fans wanted new music. Had it been up to Janson, he would have been happy writing for others and playing shows. Radio DJ Bobby Bones debuted the song, and it went viral overnight. Soon the singer was signed to Warner Brothers, and finally, on October 30, his debut album (called Buy Me a Boat) will drop.

“I was gonna self-title the record,” Janson says, “and this week I was on tour and I hit two chords and the crowd came running and I thought ‘Forget it. I’m the Boat Guy.’ I’m gonna roll with it, or float with it.”

There will be 11 songs on Buy Me a Boat, all written or co-written by Janson. The songs will come from every period in the singer’s life and career, from his time as a bachelor with a wild streak to now, as a proud husband and father of four who doesn’t drink.

“Every little bit of this record I wrote, I co-produced it and I’m just having a ball with it,” Janson shared during Country Cares for St. Jude Kids night at the Grand Ole Opry.

He even wrote a song with a superstar artist and the two cut it as a duet. He and his wife Kelly didn’t outright say it was Tim McGraw, but the clues overwhelmingly point in that direction.

“My first cut ever for an artist, we have a cut together on this album,” he said. “Not a guest appearance or a feature — it’s a duet, and it’s awesome!”

Later he admitted — with a broad smile — that he recently joined this superstar on stage. Janson wrote “Truck Yeah” for McGraw’s 2013 album Two Lanes of Freedom. The two also shared a stage in Nashville last month during a Shotgun Rider Tour stop.

Chris Janson and the Best of Country 2015