Chris Young‘s long-awaited Young Love & Saturday Nights album is here! The 18-track project took a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of thought, with Young choosing to be intentional with every aspect of his new record.

“I wanted this album to be special. I had a lot of time to work on this record, even though patience is not my strong suit,” Young shared during a recent media event. “I decided, ‘Hey, let’s change things up a little bit.’ There are songs on here that I didn’t write. There are songs on here that I co-wrote. There are songs that I produced by myself. There are songs I produced with my friends. And I really was just trying to find a lot of things that I wanted to say.”

As with all of his previous albums, but perhaps none as much as Young Love & Saturday Nights, Young was determined to give fans an entire experience, covering a wide range of emotions and feelings in the 18 songs on the record.

“There are the love songs and the sexy songs,” Young says. “But there are also party songs. There’s a song about my dad and my dog. I think I was just trying to pour out a little more of myself on this record that I haven’t really delved into before.”

Young had an early start in country music, winning Nashville Star in 2006, and signing his first record deal before he was even old enough to legally imbibe. Young Love & Saturday Nights is his ninth album, staying on the same record label throughout his career that has already spanned almost two decades, with no sign of slowing down.

“I’m still a lot younger than others that have started their careers at my age as an artist, because I got started so early,” Young reflects. “I was 20 years old when I signed my record deal. It’s pretty wild that I’ve been able to stay on one record label my entire career, and have that long of a career. I’m incredibly grateful to anyone that’s ever listened to my music. And also, I hope they understand that I know what weight comes with that, because everybody’s going to be comparing to your previous record.

“They’re always going to compare what you put out to earlier albums, and I just hope they like this album as much as they’ve liked Neon or Man I Want to Be, or anything that I’ve put out,” he adds. “It means a lot, and I don’t feel the weight of it, but I do have a healthy respect for the fact that I have been around this long, and I’ve been lucky enough to still keep doing it, and putting out music that people like.”

Young wrote 15 of the 18 songs on Young Love & Saturday Nights. But one of the songs he didn’t write, “Getting Older,” is also one of the most personal on the record.

“I wanted to write a song for my dad,” Young said. “I attempted it a couple of times, and couldn’t get it right. It was good, but it wasn’t great. And then Dave Fenley actually played me that song, and I was like, ‘Give me. Come on.'”

Young by now no longer needs to take chances in his music, but the 38-year-old still wanted to try something new on Young Love & Saturday Nights. He included not only the song about his dog, “All Dogs Go To Heaven,” but also a faith-based “Country Boy’s Prayer,” plus sexy songs, feel-good songs, thought-provoking songs, and more.

“I feel like there are a lot of things on this album that are different, topically, than I would normally cover,” Young says. “And I don’t say that as a bad thing.”

Young Love & Saturday Nights follows his 14-track Famous Friends record, out in 2021, which later included six new songs on the deluxe version. With 18 songs on the new set of tunes, Young is aware of the magnitude of releasing 18 songs on one album.

“I hope everybody enjoys that I put out this much music,” Young shares. “I know that it’s a lot. It’s a lot for people to listen through, but I hope that’s positive.”

Young, of course, hopes that fans resonate with all of the songs on Young Love & Saturday Nights. But in many ways, the album has already been a success story for him, even before he shared it with the rest of the world.

“I love this record,” Young gushes. “This is a very special record.”

Young already released “What She Sees In Me,” “Looking For You,” “All Dogs Go To Heaven,” “Right Now” and “Double Down,” from the project. See a track list for Young Love & Saturday Nights below.  Young will embark on his Young Love & Saturday Nights Tour on April 25 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Find music and tour dates at ChrisYoungCountry.com.

Young Love & Saturday Nights Track List:

1. Looking for You
2. All Dogs Go to Heaven
3. Young Love & Saturday Nights
4. Don’t Call Me
5. What She Sees in Me
6. Country Boy’s Prayer
7. Double Down
8. Call It a Day
9. Drink to Remember
10. Don’t Stop Now
11. Fall Out
12. Fire
13. Gettin’ Older
14. Right Now
15. Million Miles
16. Everybody Grew Up
17. Knee Deep in Neon
18. Down