Chris Young, the country crooner who won Nashville Star in 2006 proved that he has the right kind of twang to hit the top of the charts. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee native has country music running through his veins. His grandfather was a performer on the long lived country variety show Louisiana Hayride, and he grew up performing in children's theatre programs. Young eventually attended college and supported himself by performing at more than 150 concert dates a year. It wasn't until a show in Arlington that Young was encouraged to try out for the USA Network reality competition show "Nashville Star". After a two-month run, Chris Young was declared the winner at the age of 20, making him the youngest competitor to win the title. Young was awarded a contract with RCA Records who released his self-titled debut album in 2006. The album was produced by Buddy Cannon, who was the Academy of Country Music's Producer of the Year in 2006, and it debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts. It yielded the singles, "Drinkin' Me Lonely" and "You're Gonna Love Me", both of which received tepid rotation on the country dials. It was with his sophomore album "The Man I Want to Be" that Young reached country gold. The album produced three #1 singles and solidified Young as a top male vocalist. Young released single after single to heavy radio airplay, including "The Man I Want to Be" and a re-released version of the single "Voices". Young received a nomination at the Academy of Country Music Awards for Top New Vocalist where he was also a presenter. His single "Gettin' You Home", was nominated for a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance signaling the cowboy's arrival to critical acclaim.
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