Chris Young Gets High Praise From Alan Jackson

theboot.com
Nov 2nd 2010 by Erin Duvall

A career dream has come true twice in one year for Chris Young, who is hitting the road with Alan Jackson for the second time in 2010. Chris started in the opening slot of AJ's tour and has now worked his way to the middle post for this second leg of the trek. Both occasions have been nothing but an honor for the 'Voices' singer, who grew up listening to the country icon.

"The first time we went out on tour with Alan, people were like, 'You probably won't see him; he comes in and out of shows,'" Chris tells The Boot. "I saw him several times. He was really nice to me. The first show out, he gave me a bottle of Jack!"

While Chris has chatted with Alan several times, it's what Alan has said about Chris rather than to him that stands out. "He's said so many nice things about me in interviews that it's been really cool," Chris gushes. "I actually did a thing recently where I sang one of his songs, 'Wanted,' at an event honoring him as a songwriter. There was an interview he did afterward where he said he wished he would have held on to that song and gave it to me, because I sang the hell out of it. When you've got the guy you're opening for saying stuff like that about you, it makes you feel pretty good."

Chris is a bit embarrassed to admit his favorite Alan song. "If it's not 'Wanted' it would have to be ... this sounds really dumb, but his first Christmas record was my favorite as a kid," Chris confesses. "We always used to listen to it. There's a song called 'I Only Want You for Christmas' on there, and I love that song. I used to play it at my Christmas shows all the time.'

Also along for the ride is the sibling trio The Band Perry. "I've met them at a couple of things," Chris says. "I've seen their show before and I really like what they do. I love their style of music, it's different. The songs they do are great, especially 'If I Die Young.'"

This isn't the only major tour Chris has joined this year. He was also on the road with Rascal Flatts and will join them again in 2011. "We spent the summer with the Flatts guys," Chris explains. "My set-list doesn't change much from one tour to the next. I am who I am as an artist. We've gotten an amazing response from both crowds. It's pretty cool to see that I can open for both of them. They're both doing country but as far as the spectrum Alan is very, very traditional. The Flatts guys are more on the progressive side of things, but the crowd still likes what I'm doing."

Alan, Chris and The Band Perry stop in Los Angeles November 5, followed by Las Vegas November 6.