Chris Young just dropped a new song, which he performed at the Grand Ole Opry. Young released “I Didn’t Come Here To Leave,” the title track of his next album. The record, his first on Black River Entertainment, will be out on October 17, which happens to be the eighth anniversary of his induction into the Grand Ole Opry.

“On a record, a lot gets made of how many tempos and how many ballads, as opposed to just making a record from top to bottom that you’ve fallen in love with – but that’s all I’ve ever tried to do,” Young explains. “I look at this album and there are songs that make you want to buy a beer, and there’s songs that if you broke up with somebody, you’re going to want to cry. For different reasons, I feel like this is a complete album – and it would be a disservice to Black River if I didn’t turn in something I believed in this way.”

Young released “I Didn’t Come Here To Leave” as he is celebrating the success of another song, “‘Til the Last One Dies,” already being a Top 40 hit for him. It’s just part of the 14 tracks on the record that Young can’t wait to release.

“At this point in my career, I hope someone listens to this album and says ‘Wow, he dug deep,’” Young shares. “The funny thing is, I’m here saying ‘Yeah, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever made,’ and I believe it wholeheartedly. It’s wild to step back and see a really long list of things I’ve gotten to do already … But I didn’t come here to leave.”

Young already said he didn’t write all of the songs on I Didn’t Come Here To Leave, including “‘Till The Last One Dies,” which was written by Ben Hayslip, Seth Mosley, and Jordan Walker.

“It’s not the only one that’s going to be on the project that I wasn’t a writer on,” Young tells Country 102.5. “I’ve had songs before that have been singles that I wasn’t a writer on. I obviously sang and produced this one. But I found it. Someone played it for me right after these guys wrote it, and I was just like, ‘Oh God. That’s really, really good. I gotta cut that.”

Young was at the Opry to be part of an all-star tribute for the late Charlie Daniels, who passed away in 2020. Young was joined by Trace Adkins, Jamey Johnson, Eddie Montgomery, Rhonda Vincent, Gretchen Wilson, The Travelin’ McCourys and more, in paying tribute to Daniels. It’s especially fitting that Young was there, since it is Young who quietly took over Daniels’ support of veterans, with his The Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project, after Daniels passed away.

“I’ve got military in my family,” Young tells Everything Nash. “I’ve sat on boards for military organizations that were nonprofits. I’ve been overseas multiple different times to Iraq, South Korea. It’s something that I’ve seen firsthand. And I know that music can make a difference in that. It’s one of the things that I’m really, truly passionate about. So I’m very happy to now be involved with that, and helping them raise money and keep that and everything that Charlie meant to so many people, going.”

Find “‘Til The Last One Dies,” “I Didn’t Come Here To Leave,” and all of Young’s music and upcoming shows at ChrisYoungCountry.com.