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Famous Friends (album)

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Famous Friends
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 6, 2021 (2021-08-06)
Recorded2018–2021
GenreCountry
Length43:18
LabelRCA Nashville
Producer
Chris Young chronology
Losing Sleep
(2017)
Famous Friends
(2021)
Young Love & Saturday Nights
(2024)
Singles from Famous Friends
  1. "Raised on Country"
    Released: January 28, 2019
  2. "Drowning"
    Released: September 23, 2019
  3. "Famous Friends"
    Released: November 20, 2020
  4. "At the End of a Bar"
    Released: September 13, 2021

Famous Friends is the eighth studio album by American country music artist Chris Young. It was released on August 6, 2021, by RCA Records Nashville. It was preceded by the three singles "Raised on Country", "Drowning" and the title track. "At the End of a Bar" would be released on September 13, 2021, as the album's fourth single.[1] Young co-wrote all but two of the songs on the album overall.

Content

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"Raised on Country" was released as the leadoff single on January 28, 2019. It was originally intended to be the title track, but following the releases of "Drowning" on September 23, 2019 and "Famous Friends" on November 20, 2020, Young announced after the COVID-19 pandemic that the album would be retitled to Famous Friends.[2][3]

Critical reception

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Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that Young "started drifting toward the middle of the road around the mid-2010s", but that Famous Friends "finds him making a course correction, adding some livelier, stylish elements to his smooth foundation".[4]

Commercial performance

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Famous Friends debuted at number three on the Top Country Albums chart, as well as number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 24,000 copies (including 14,000 album units) in its first week.[5][6]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Raised on Country"
  • Young
  • Crowder
2:57
2."Famous Friends" (featuring Kane Brown)
  • Young
  • Barlowe
  • Crowder
  • Young
  • Crowder
2:46
3."Town Ain't Big Enough" (featuring Lauren Alaina)
  • Young
  • Barlowe
  • Crowder
  • Shay Mooney
  • Young
  • Crowder
2:51
4."Drowning"
  • Young
  • Crowder
3:11
5."Rescue Me"
  • Young
  • Hoge
  • Mark Holman
  • Matt McGinn
  • Christian Davis Stalnecker
  • Young
  • Holman
3:17
6."Break Like You Do"
  • Young
  • DeStefano
3:16
7."At the End of a Bar" (featuring Mitchell Tenpenny)
  • Young
  • DeStefano
  • Mitchell Tenpenny
  • Young
  • DeStefano
3:06
8."Love Looks Good on You"
  • Young
  • DeStefano
3:30
9."One of Them Nights"
  • Young
  • DeStefano
2:42
10."When You're Drinking"
  • Young
  • DeStefano
  • Rogers
  • Smith
  • Young
  • Crowder
3:16
11."Cross Every Line"
  • Young
  • Crowder
3:25
12."Hold My Beer Watch This"
  • Young
  • Barlowe
  • Crowder
  • Young
  • Crowder
2:46
13."Best Seat in the House"
  • Young
  • Crowder
3:05
14."Tonight We're Dancing"
  • Young
  • Josh Gleave
  • Josh Phillips
Young3:10
Total length:43:18
Deluxe Edition[7]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Everybody Needs a Song" (featuring Old Dominion)
  • Young
  • Brad Tursi
  • DeStefano
3:03
16."If I Knew What was Good for Me"
  • Young
  • Crowder
  • Hoge
2:48
17."Music Note" (featuring Jimmie Allen)
  • Young
  • Barlowe
  • Phillips
3:06
18."Like a Slow Song"
  • Bart Butler
  • Justin Ebach
  • Josh Thompson
3:17
19."Think of You (duet with Cassadee Pope)" (acoustic version)
  • Young
  • Crowder
  • Hoge
3:30
20."I'm Comin' Over" (acoustic version)
  • Young
  • Crowder
  • Hoge
3:09
Total length:1:02:11

Personnel

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Adapted from liner notes.[8]

Tracks 1–4 and 10–13

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Track 5

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  • Josh Hoge – background vocals
  • Mark Holman – electric guitar, piano, programming
  • Miles McPherson – drums, percussion
  • Chris Young – lead vocals

Tracks 6–9

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  • Chris DeStefano – acoustic guitar, banjo, bass guitar, dobro, drums, electric guitar, keyboards, piano, programming, violin, background vocals
  • Ashley Gorley – background vocals
  • Mitchell Tenpenny – duet vocals on "At the End of a Bar"
  • Chris Young – lead vocals

Track 14

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  • Dave Cohen – B-3 organ, piano, synthesizer
  • Wes Hightower – background vocals
  • Julian King – programming
  • Tony Lucido – bass guitar
  • Miles McPherson – drums, percussion
  • Danny Rader – acoustic guitar
  • Scotty Sanders – steel guitar
  • Derek Wells – electric guitar
  • Chris Young – lead vocals

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for Famous Friends
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[16] Gold 500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Future Releases for Country Radio Stations". All Access. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  2. ^ "Raised on Country by Chris Young". Songfacts. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  3. ^ Brianne Tracy (June 9, 2021). "Chris Young Announces New Album Famous Friends Set to Drop in August: 'I'm Really Excited'". People. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  4. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Famous Friends review". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  5. ^ Asker, Jim (August 17, 2021). "Chris Young's 'Famous Friends' Debuts at No. 3 on Top Country Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  6. ^ "Chris Young Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  7. ^ Ihan, Buddy (April 29, 2022). "Chris Young announces 'Famous Friends' Deluxe Edition". The Music Universe. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  8. ^ Chris Young (2021). Famous Friends (CD booklet). RCA Records Nashville. 19075-93292-2.
  9. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 16 August 2021". The ARIA Report. No. 1641. Australian Recording Industry Association. August 16, 2021. p. 6.
  10. ^ "Chris Young Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  11. ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  12. ^ "Chris Young Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  13. ^ "Chris Young Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  14. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  15. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  16. ^ "American album certifications – Chris Young – Famous Friends". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 15, 2022.