Brett Charles Young (born March 23, 1981) is an American

country pop Country pop (also known as urban cowboy or even urban country) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends g ...

singer, songwriter and guitarist from Anaheim, California. He was a college

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

but took up songwriting after an elbow injury. His self-titled debut EP, produced by Dann Huff, was released by Republic Nashville on February 12, 2016. The lead single, " Sleep Without You", was released on April 11th that year and he had a major success with a follow-up single, " In Case You Didn't Know". He released his second major label album '' Ticket to L.A.'' in 2018, and the third, '' Weekends Look a Little Different These Days'', in 2021.

Early life

Young was born in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

, Orange County. He attended Calvary Chapel High School in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

and then went to the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

(Ole Miss), Irvine Valley College, and

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

(Fresno State). He began singing in the late 1990s when he stepped in to replace a leader of a band who did not show up during a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

worship meeting at high school. Young was a pitcher on his high school baseball team and led the squad to a CIF championship. He went to Ole Miss on a baseball scholarship in 1999 after turning down pre-draft selection by both Tampa Bay Devil Rays and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. In his one-season on the Rebel baseball team in 2000, he earned a varsity letter posting two wins and two saves. He then lettered for one season at Irvine Valley before moving to Fresno State. However, his pursuit of a professional baseball career was cut short by an elbow injury while at college in Fresno in 2003.

Music career

According to Young, he was inspired by

Gavin DeGraw Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song "I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album ''Chariot (album), Chariot'' (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB/The CW, ...

after he heard DeGraw's album ''

Chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

'' as well as by singer-songwriter Jeremy Steele. Young decided to return to music. He independently released a self-titled four-song EP in 2007, ''Make Believe'' in 2011, followed by the albums ''Brett Young'', ''On Fire'', and ''Broken Down'' in 2012–13. After being based for eight years in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Young moved to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. He was soon signed by the

Big Machine Label Group Big Machine Records is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executiv ...

in August 2015.

2016–present: ''Brett Young'' EP and album

In February 2016, Young released a six-song self-titled EP. " Sleep Without You" was released as the first single from the EP in April 2016. He wrote the song with Justin Ebach and Kelly Archer. The second single to be released from the album " In Case You Didn't Know", was released on January 9, 2017 becoming Young's signature song. The song was his first to reach number one on the

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since October 20, 2012, although the magazine also retrospectively recognizes the Hot Country Songs charts from January 20, 1990, through October 13, 2012, ...

chart and it was certified Diamond by RIAA. The album's third single, "Like I Loved You" released to country radio on July 17, 2017. On February 10, 2017, Young released his self-titled debut studio album '' Brett Young''. The album was produced by Dann Huff, and released through Big Machine Label Group. It debuted at number two on the

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales ...

chart. Young tours with his band which includes lead guitarist Keaton Simons, drummer Billy Hawn, keys/guitarist Matt Ferranti, and bass guitarist Noah Needleman.

2018–2020: ''Ticket to L.A.''

In December 2018, Young released his sophomore album '' Ticket to L.A.''. The lead single for the album, "Here Tonight", which he co-wrote with Ben Caver, Justin Ebach, and Charles Kelley from

Lady A Lady A, known until 2020 as Lady Antebellum, is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar ...

was released in September 2018. It was number one on the Country Airplay in April 2019. The album's second single, " Catch" released to country radio on June 3, 2019.

2020–present: ''Weekends Look a Little Different These Days''

In April 2020, Young released the single "

Lady ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...

", which he wrote about his wife and daughter. It is the lead-off single to his third studio album '' Weekends Look a Little Different These Days'', which was released on June 4, 2021. "Lady" reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in April 2021. The album's second single "Not Yet" was released in the same month. However, it was less successful, only peaking at number 37 on the Country Airplay chart. It was Young's first single to miss the Top 10, as well as his lowest-charting single to date and the first to miss number one since his 2016 debut single “ Sleep Without You”. A third single " You Didn't" was released in November 2021. In October 2021, he released a Christmas album ''Brett Young & Friends Sing the Christmas Classics''.

Personal life

In February 2018, Young and his girlfriend Taylor Mills were engaged. They wed in Palm Desert, California on November 3, 2018. On April 6, 2019, they announced that they were expecting their first child in the fall 2019. Their daughter Presley was born on October 21, 2019. On January 27, 2021, they announced that they were expecting their second child in summer 2021. Their second daughter Rowan was born on July 21, 2021.

Discography

* '' Brett Young'' (2017) * '' Ticket to L.A.'' (2018) * '' Weekends Look a Little Different These Days'' (2021) * '' Across the Sheets'' (2023) * '' 2.0'' (2025)

Awards and nominations

Television appearances

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Brett 1981 births Living people American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Country musicians from California Musicians from Orange County, California Republic Records artists Singer-songwriters from California 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American male singers Musicians from Huntington Beach, California