(CSC) 1.   What is the greatest thing that has happened to you since you got your record deal?

(Chris Young)

Probably the best thing that’s happened to me since getting my record deal is hearing my song on the radio for the first time; without being in the studio, just completely natural, driving around in the truck, and my song coming on. That’s pretty cool.

(CSC) 2. What is in your CD player right now?

(Chris Young):

I know I have a John Anderson CD. I’ve actually got my new album and I was listening to that; (Laughs) which you don’t ever want to get busted for listening to your own record. It’s a little weird. But, just listening to that and making sure that everything on there was good. I have Randy Houser’s new record, I like him, and I actually have an old Marty Robbins record in my CD player.

(CSC) 3. Last summer you were on tour with Martina McBride and Jack Ingram. After being on the road with them, what did you take with you or learn by watching them onstage and interacting with their fans?

(Chris Young)

You know, a lot of that is they’re at the next level where they can have set pieces and have a lot of things lighting-wise onstage that I can’t. So I took away a lot of that from the live shows, just kind of watching what they did with set pieces, what they did with props they can move around and use. Then, and I always try to take this from anybody, but they really care about their fans and that’s really important to me and it reminds me that it’s important, no matter what level you’re at.

(CSC) 4. What three things can you not live without when you’re on the road?

(Chris Young)

Definitely, I cannot live without music, my iPod; can’t do without that, got to have that, and my computer. And then, Diet Coke (Laughs) if I can have those three things I’ll probably get by and be okay!

(CSC) 5.   On your iPod, do you have an eclectic mix of music?

(Chris Young)

Oh yeah. We were laughing the other day going through the names. I have Ozzy Osborne, Marty Robbins, Jack Ingram, Martina McBride, and George Strait. I’ve got a collection of old Waylon music, jazz, and Al Jarreau in there as well as Mel Torme; I’ve got a Tony Bennett record too. I’ve got some classical stuff and I also like Avenged Sevenfold music. I’ve got literally anything you can have that’s in there.

(CSC) 6. How many songs do you think you’ve written up to this point in your career?

(Chris Young)

No idea. I know its well over 200. And that’s the actual songs I would admit to! (Laughs)

(CSC) 7. Are there any songs on the new album coming out that you wrote solely by yourself?

(Chris Young)

It’s very rare that I’ll write just alone. I do it sometimes, but I usually kind of keep those songs to myself. I’ve got some that I wrote that way but I haven’t cut any as of yet for a record. Maybe one day.

(CSC) 8. You recently played a benefit in your hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee after a catastrophic tornado hit. After seeing the road you grew up on hit hard, what was it like for you seeing this so close to home, and what did it mean to you to be able to raise money to help Murfreesboro?

(Chris Young)

It was really important to me because people are always like “Oh it hit two streets over!” or “It didn’t hit anybody’s house, you know?” It really hit five streets over and it did hit four houses down the road from where I grew up. There are a lot of houses there; even if it’s not the people that I used to know that live there, or if it were my friends from high school. I rode my bike past those houses. So it really put a personal spin on it. I was the first person to go check on the house. So coming back from Nashville I didn’t know if our house was still there or not. It’s just a weird feeling. I know a lot of people that did have their house hit and were going through that. So I thought it was important.

(CSC) 8. Have you passed up any songs that later went on to become a hit for another artist?

(Chris Young)

The only one I can think of, and it’s not a song we passed up, was a song that sounded a lot like “Little Bit of Life”, the Craig Morgan song, on my first record. I listened to that and I said “Man, I really like that song” and for whatever reason we didn’t pick it for the album. So that’s the only one I can think of.

(CSC) 9. You have a really large fan base and one of the most popular booths at CMA Fest in Nashville every year. With your schedule becoming more hectic, how do you still find time to connect with your fans, stay personable, and remain grounded?

(Chris Young)

I do? (Laughs) I think that’s a big part of why I have lines at CMA Fest, and people still want to come see my shows. People still ask “Hey, when is your new record coming out?” even though it’s closing in on three years that I’ve had a record. I think that’s a big reason why, so it’s not hard for me to want to see people. It’s not hard for me to want to stay after every show and sign, unless we have absolutely somewhere to be. It’s important to me!

(CSC) 10. You recently won Country Weekly’s Hottest Bachelor. What went through your mind when you found you had won this for the second time in three years?

(Chris Young)

I kind of laughed, because I knew what was coming from my band. I knew they were going to pick on me. At the same time, that’s one of the coolest things that has happened to me recently. I thought it was really, really neat.

(CSC) 11. Some people may not know that you are a prankster. What would you say is the best prank you’ve ever played on someone, and what is the best one that has been played on you?

(Chris Young)

So everyone knows I’m not joking about the hottest bachelor thing, when we did the tornado benefit in Murfreesboro, my bass player went out to the front to the house guy, and he did not tell me that he did this. Instead of our normal walk-on music that the band starts, they played “I’m Too Sexy For My Shirt.” So he pranked me pretty good on that one. (Laughs) The best one we’ve ever played on somebody is we had a new merch guy and he had fallen asleep after saying he was going to hang out. So we found this spray can, like an aerosol can, of Febreze. We opened up both curtains on his bunk and started spraying until he woke up. We were like “Ha-ha, we got you! Now you smell like Febreze!” It ended up backfiring because the bus and his bunk still smelled like Febreze several days later. (Laughs)

(CSC) 12. Thank you so much for your time, Chris!

(Chris Young)

Oh definitely... Thanks for letting me do this!!

Chris Young's official website is currently under construction... in the meantime please check out his official MySpace page here for the latest news and tourdates here: http://www.myspace.com/chrisyoungStay tuned later this week for an exclusive review of the Chris Young Fan Club Party 2009!!