Chris Lane Gets His 'Fix' at First No. 1 Party

The odds were stacked against Chris Lane — his debut single, "Fix," also happened to be the first song ever to be released on a brand new label, Big Loud Records. His No. 1 party on Monday (Oct. 10) was a grateful celebration where he, his record label and the industry stressed the magnitude of this achievement, as no startup label has ever taken its first single to No. 1.

In a gathering with media before his party at the BMI offices in Nashville, Lane was grateful to the songwriters of the song — Sarah Buxton, Jesse Frasure and Abe Stoklasa — for taking a chance on him and allowing him to record "Fix." While Frasure had met Lane at a Florida Georgia Line show years prior, Stoklasa admits he had never heard of the singer when cut recorded their song.

"What a special day and honor to be here with the songwriters who wrote an amazing song and believed in me enough to cut the song," Lane tells Taste of Country. "It was the day I honestly thought I'd never see. When I graduated college and started learning how to play the guitar, I couldn't even fathom sitting here and doing something like this today. It's a special day and one I can't believe happened."

When Frasure, Buxton and Stoklasa sat down to write what would become "Fix," they had no musician in mind. While Frasure says it was written as a pop song, they also channeled Hall and Oates' R&B flavor during the session.

"We were using some pretty progressive language and name dropping pop culture figures," he says, alluding to the line "Walter White high," referencing a character on the hit show Breaking Bad, who is a meth cook. Later, Stoklasa would admit that he binge watched Breaking Bad shortly before the three met to write and he "definitely had drugs on the mind."

Lane's manager, Seth England, came across the song and liked what he heard, so he wanted to put it on hold for Lane immediately. Thankfully, the songwriters obliged.

"Knowing the team involved, it was a no-brainer," Frasure adds. "To see this from a brand new label, a brand new artist, a song that was really special to us that didn't intend to top the country charts, it was unreal. It's like no other song I've been a part of to watch the climb and watch the fight from everyone involved."

While Buxton says she knew the moment she heard Lane sing "Fix" that it would go to No. 1, not everyone in the industry thought that positively. She recalls some people thinking it'd be lucky to make it to the Top 5, and thankfully for the writers, the naysayers were wrong.

"I'm used to that, the music business. I'm used to hearing no," she reasons.

Stoklasa — who was celebrating his first No. 1 as a songwriter — said he wasn't aware Big Loud was starting a label, but was certain with songwriter Craig Wiseman at the helm, things would be successful.

"You don't bet against that guy. I had no doubts this was going to be a successful first go at it," he says. "It was really surreal. It didn't even hit me until a couple weeks ago. It didn't feel real. It still feels kind of weird. I don't feel much different, I'm a little happier. It's not as tangible as I thought it was. Maybe it hasn't sunk in."

While each of the three songwriters said working with the other was "effortless," Lane added that hearing the demo of the song helped him find the sound he was looking for in his artist career. A week after walking around the studio singing Usher the song seemingly fell into his lap and it was the exact style his producer Joey Moi envisioned with his falsetto range.

"When I first heard 'Fix,' I knew I wanted the song. It was my style. It was what I was hoping to have. I feel very blessed and honored that I get to call it my first No. 1," Lane concedes.

Chris Lane Gets His ‘Fix’ at First No. 1 Party