American Idol Season 19 winner Chayce Beckham recently released his highly reflective track, "23," to country radio. His gritty vocals shine on the vulnerable song, and Beckham says he has taken cues from artists with a similar style — such as Zach Bryan — when it comes to navigating his career.

"I think artists like Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers and Kolton Moore and guys like that kind of really opened up the doors for me to start playing country music more and being more involved in a genre that I didn't think that I would always be a part of because I was in many different bands and playing different kinds of music," Beckham tells Taste of Country Nights host Evan Paul.

The newcomer also believes artists like Bryan have brought a certain style of country music back to the mainstream, and he's grateful for that.

"I think those guys, listening to their music for the past few years has definitely helped me develop my own style of music and how I want to sing and tell stories," he continues. "I think that's kind of what's happened over the last year, is you kind of watched some of that more nitty gritty style of music make its way into the radio stations."

In addition to being influenced by fellow country artists, Beckham has plenty of influences that come from other corners of music. He was once in a reggae band and he dabbled in rap and punk rock.

"I bounced around to all sorts of music," he says. "I grew up on country music. That's what I listened to when I was a kid. I think because that's what I was fed so much, when I got a little older and I could explore into more music, that was something I really took advantage of, listening to all different kinds of music."

Beckham also lists Sublime as an influence, and he credits rap for aiding in his songwriting skills.

The American Idol winner will be singing "23" on a handful of tour dates he has planned for the year. His next run begins Feb. 11 in Landers, Calif.

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