Chris Young knew as soon as he heard “‘Til The Last One Dies” that he wanted to record it. The 39-year-old just released the song as his debut single from his next record, his first on Black River Entertainment.
“It is a straight down the middle love song that I fell in love with the very first time I heard it,” Young tells iHeart. “It’s one of the few on the record that I did not take part in writing, but I wish that I had written this idea. It’s just an incredible song.”
Young has yet to share an album title or track listing for his next record. But he does reveal that “‘Til The Last One Dies’ is one of only a few on the project that he didn’t help write.
“‘Til The Last One Dies,’ my very first single on Black River Entertainment,” Young shares. “I had a friend pitch me the song. This is one of the few that’s on the record that I was not a co-writer on, but got a chance to sing it and produce it with my buddy, Andy [Sheridan]. I think if I was going to say why I was drawn to this song, not only is it a very new way to say ‘I love you’ to somebody in song form,. My favorite line is the line leading up to the hook, saying that he bought ‘A dozen roses …11 real ones, one fake one, and I’ll love you ’til the last one dies.'”
By his own admission, it’s been a bit since he has released a sweet love song. But the Tennessee native admits he couldn’t stop listening to “‘Til The Last One Dies” when he first heard it.
“‘Til The Last One Dies’ is one of those songs that, I listened to it and I kept listening to it,” he reveals.
Young was with RCA Records since 2006, after winning Season 4 of Nashville Star. His deal was up with his now former record label, and Young planned on meeting with several different companies. But after meeting with Black River Entertainment, Young realized he didn’t want to look anywhere else.
“I was just gonna take a whole bunch of meetings,” Young tells Taste of Country Nights. “My very first meeting was with Black River Entertainment. Sat with them for three hours. Played the new music, they loved all the songs. They gave me everything I asked for and more.”
Young concedes that it did help that Kelsea Ballerini is also on the same label, and her career is at an all-time high.
“They’re like, ‘Look, we got our queen. We want you to be our king,'” Young recalls. “Man, that’s hard to turn that down.”
Young is thrilled to introduce his new album with “‘Til The Last One Dies,” a good indicator of what fans can expect from his new project.
“I just thought the message on this one was so perfect,” Young tells Audacy. “I went to every single one of my friends, male, female, whatever, that were married or in a relationship, and they were all just blown away by this song, so I was like, ‘Okay, we gotta go with this one first. It’s just too perfect.”
Find “‘Til The Last One Dies” and all of Young’s music and upcoming shows at ChrisYoungCountry.com.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Black River