Chris Young: ‘There’s Personal Experience in Just About Everything I Write’

Chris Young says his new single "I'm Comin' Over" is a different kind of relationship song, but it's one nearly everyone can relate to. The "should we, shouldn't we" ballad is his fans' first peek at where his fifth studio album is headed. He says it comes from personal experience.

"There’s some personal experience in just about everything I write," Young tells Taste of Country, artfully dodging the specifics. He penned the song with his producer, Corey Crowder, and Josh Hoge. What appeals to him is the sneaky universality of the lyrics.

“I think that everybody has been at that point in a relationship,” he says before making clear that it's not an end-of-a-relationship song. It's more on again, off again and, “Right now you don’t know if it’s gonna stay on or off, but right now you don’t care.”

Two songs from the upcoming album include an uptempo, feel-good jam called "Underdogs," and a ballad Young recorded with Vince Gill. "Sober Saturday Night" is this album's "The Dashboard" (an album cut from The Man I Want to Be), in that it's a song that will stick with people in a specific way. He's not sure if the new song will be a single, but he was pretty excited to have cut it with Gill in Gill's home studio.

"I'm Movin' On" by Rascal Flatts is that kind of song for Young. The ballad always takes him back to high school, and he relives whatever experience he was going through at the time that the 2001 track helped him deal with.

Young pegged his new album for a fall release, saying they're just finishing up the final phases of mastering now. He doesn't give to much thought to what his album will sound like prior to beginning the recording. Naturally, he's rooted in traditional country music, but fans know he's liable to include loops and synthetic beats.

“The only thing I want to be known as is a country singer," he insists. "I want people to hear it and go ‘That’s country!’”

Chris Young Talks About His Sexy "I'm Comin' Over" Video