Friday Find #4 – Kane Brown

Cheers to Friday, folks! To close out this workweek, R&B is bringing you a #FridayFind chill enough to help you wind down yet exciting enough to help you get ready for the weekend. 24-year-old Tennessee native Kane Brown has had one of the biggest years of his life since releasing his self-titled debut album last December, and his name is only going to grow larger in country music from here on out.

Growing up with his mother in both the Chattanooga, TN and Northwest Georgia areas, he had very little as a kid and sometimes even considered himself to be homeless. He always had aspirations of being a singer-songwriter throughout his school years, and sang in school choirs throughout his childhood. Coincidentally, during high school he was in a chorus class with would-be American Idol contestant and rising country star, Lauren Alaina, and to this day they are still close friends (and even co-workers)!

After spending time recording numerous covers of country hits on his YouTube page, he finally raised enough money on a Kickstarter page in 2014 to record his first EP album, Closer. The EP immediately made its way to the Billboard country charts and all of a sudden Kane was on his way to superstardom. Shortly after, he was given the opportunity to serve as an opening act on the 2016 nationwide Dig Your Roots Tour with country powerhouse Florida Georgia Line.

As an artist signed to the RCA Nashville label, the steadily-growing Brown debuted his first full-length album Kane Brown in December 2016 and put out a deluxe album follow up in October 2017, which featured four additional bonus tracks. The album features singles “Thunder In the Rain” and “What Ifs (feat. Lauren Alaina)” and made it to #1 on the country charts and #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, already having sold upwards of 200K copies. In addition to being widely distributed, the incredible facet of the album is that seven of the eleven tracks on the original cut have Brown listed as a co-writer, showing that he really is carving his own path in the country music scene.

So far, Kane’s exciting new style, honest songwriting and definitive voice have set him apart from other singer-songwriters currently in country music, and he has shown time and time again that achieving success is the result of hard work, dedication, and believing anything is possible.

Let’s take a closer look at Kane’s first full-length album:

“Hometown” – Written by Tyler and Brian of Florida Georgia Line (among others), this song is an energetic start to Kane’s first LP. The song perfectly showcases his versatile and definitive southern voice, and the lyrics define the struggles he has faced juxtaposed with the current success he is finding. Nowadays, it seems that Kane is making his hometown very, very proud.
“What Ifs (feat. Lauren Alaina) – In the era of country duets, this song is catchy and of course, trending. The chemistry between Kane and Lauren is evident as they conveniently align during the chorus and provide a bright glimpse of what the future of country music looks like. The song, written by Brown and team, is definitely one to sing at yourself in the mirror and comes along with an endearing message: “what ifs” simply remain “what ifs” until they’re acted upon!
“Cold Spot” – Personally my favorite song on the album, this track is poignant and nostalgic, descriptive and tangible. Not only do small insights into Brown’s childhood sneak their way into the song, but the lyricism here is some of the best of the entire album. If you can only listen to one song from Kane Brown forever, this is the one; “Cold Spot” is as Kane Brown as Kane Brown himself. It’s clear that this “hole in the wall with holes in the wall” had quite an impact on him throughout his youth, and for that, we thank it.
“Thunder in the Rain” – Musically, this song is right up Kane’s alley. Country rock at its roots with a hint of modern country pop, the track is lively, well-mixed, and a big radio hit. The percussion track perfectly outlines Kane’s distinct, deeper vocals and when mixed over the jumpy, lightning-like electric guitar, he really does sound like thunder in the rain.