Chris Young Discusses His ‘Five-Year Plan’ for Success

The past few years for Chris Young have been nothing but a steady climb to the top as one of country music's hottest stars. The singer just came off of having his fourth consecutive No. 1 single with his last single, 'Tomorrow,' and he scored his first gold album with his sophomore release, 'The Man I Want to Be.' But not everything has been a high point in that time frame.

Prior to having his first chart-topping single, 'Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song),' Young and his family were devastated to learn that his father, Michael, had cancer. After months of treatments, Michael was cancer-free and Young had the No. 1 country single in America. From there, things just kept getting better for the singer. Young says that the emotions he felt during the highs and lows of that time have become evident in his songwriting in recent years.

"I think all the stuff that's happened definitely has influenced my songwriting, and where I want to be headed as an artist and as a songwriter in the future," Young told Taste of Country at his recent No. 1 party for 'Tomorrow.' "When you get to celebrate stuff this big and this exiting, you realize all of the work you've put into it. Days like today, that's really all that we're doing ... we're just celebrating all of that, and then tomorrow you've got to come up with something else to start building on. Then, hopefully in another three or four months, we're celebrating again. That's a great feeling."

"I always say that I was the kid who would do the five-year plan, so in five years I have to have this done, this done, this done and this done, and try to make it happen," he continues. "I find that once I check something off, I realize I have to come up with something else. I'm one of those people who will never get tired of trying to top anything that I've done before. It's almost that much more exciting because you know that that's accessible to you."

Young's latest single, 'You,' is a tune he co-wrote with hit songwriter Luke Laird. The tune is currently at radio, well on its way to becoming yet another chart-topping song in his career.

Listen to Chris Young's 'You'