Famous Friends (album)

Famous Friends
Famous Friends
Studio album by Chris Young
Released	August 6, 2021
Recorded	2018–2021
Genre	Country
Length	43:18
Label	RCA Nashville
Producer	Corey Crowder; Chris DeStefano; Mark Holman; Chris Young;
Chris Young chronology
Singles from Famous Friends
	"Raised on Country"; Released: January 28, 2019; "Drowning"; Released: September 23, 2019; "Famous Friends"; Released: November 20, 2020; "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

"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

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

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

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Raised on Country"	Chris Young Cary Barlowe Corey Crowder	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 Josh Hoge	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 Chris DeStefano Matt Rogers Anthony Smith	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 Ashley Gorley	Young DeStefano	3:30
9.	"One of Them Nights"	Young DeStefano Rhett Akins	Young DeStefano	2:42
10.	"When You're Drinking"	Young DeStefano Rogers Smith	Young Crowder	3:16
11.	"Cross Every Line"	David Garcia Hillary Lindsey Chase McGill	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 Sarah Buxton	Young Crowder	3:05
14.	"Tonight We're Dancing"	Young Josh Gleave Josh Phillips	Young	3:10
Total length:				43:18

Deluxe Edition^[7]
No.	Title	Writer(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

Adapted from liner notes.^[8]

Tracks 1–4 and 10–13

Lauren Alaina – duet vocals on "Town Ain't Big Enough"
Cary Barlowe – bass guitar, electric guitar, background vocals
Kane Brown – duet vocals on "Famous Friends"
Sarah Buxton – background vocals
Dave Cohen – B-3 organ, piano, synthesizer
Corey Crowder – acoustic guitar, bass guitar, programming, background vocals
Chris DeStefano – background vocals
Hillary Lindsey – background vocals
Tony Lucido – bass guitar
Mac McAnally – acoustic guitar
Rob McNelley – electric guitar
Miles McPherson – drums
Shay Mooney – background vocals
Russell Terrell – background vocals
Derek Wells – electric guitar
Alex Wright – B-3 organ, organ, piano, synthesizer, Wurlitzer
Chris Young – lead vocals

Track 5

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

Tracks 6–9

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

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

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *Famous Friends*
Chart (2021)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[9]	64
Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[10]	44
UK Country Albums (OCC)^[11]	2
US Billboard 200^[12]	13
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[13]	3

Year-end charts

2021 Year-end chart performance for *Famous Friends*
Chart (2021)	Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[14]	65

2022 Year-end chart performance for *Famous Friends*
Chart (2022)	Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[15]	69

Certifications

Certifications for *Famous Friends*
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[16]	Gold	500,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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

[countryradio-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.

[liner-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.

[ac_BillboardCanada_Chris_Young-10] "Chris Young Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2021.

[ac_UKCountry_-11] "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 23, 2021.

[ac_Billboard200_Chris_Young-12] "Chris Young Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2021.

[ac_BillboardCountry_Chris_Young-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.

[United_StatesChris_YoungFamous_FriendsalbumCertRef-16] "American album certifications – Chris Young – Famous Friends". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 15, 2022.

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v t e Chris Young
Discography
Studio albums	Chris Young (2006) The Man I Want to Be (2009) Neon (2011) A.M. (2013) I'm Comin' Over (2015) It Must Be Christmas (2016) Losing Sleep (2017) Famous Friends (2021) Young Love & Saturday Nights (2024)
Singles	"Drinkin' Me Lonely" "Voices" "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)" "The Man I Want to Be" "Tomorrow" "You" "Neon" "I Can Take It from There" "Aw Naw" "Who I Am with You" "Lonely Eyes" "I'm Comin' Over" "Think of You" "Sober Saturday Night" "Losing Sleep" "Hangin' On" "Raised on Country" "Drowning" "Famous Friends" "At the End of a Bar" "Looking for You" "Young Love & Saturday Nights"
Other songs	"Flowers"