Chris Young does not define success the way most artists likely do. For Young, who shockingly has never won a major industry award, that is fortunately not how he determines whether he is succeeding as an artist, or not.

“You can look at the history of country music, and see where it changes, where it shifts,” Young says on the In The Blind podcast. “And there’s a bunch of new artists that come in, and some of the artists – you never get to pick when you’re done. Vince Gill, sitting in his house with him, seeing his wall of awards. I don’t have a single CMA or an ACM, or a Grammy. I’ve been nominated a lot, but I don’t have a single one. I still get to go play music for people, and have my songs on the radio and on streaming, and people still listen to them, and that’s the end all, be all for me.”

What Chris Young Learned From Vince Gill About Success

Young cites Gill’s 2002 “Next Big Thing” single, which ironically was Gill’s last Top 20 hit as a solo artist, as validation that success can come in a lot of different ways, not just trophies.

“[It] was sort of him being like, ‘You guys just stopped playing my songs out of nowhere,’ even though everyone respects the hell out of him,” Young says. “Everybody loves Vince Gill. He jumped on ‘Sober Saturday Night,’ and had another No. 1, with me, on one of my songs, which was cool for me, because I’ve always been a huge fan of his. Everyone knows he’s talented. Times change. New people come in. There’s points where artists phase out, whether they’re like, ‘All right. I had my moment.’ Or, they keep moving forward and keep making new music, and people don’t gravitate toward it for whatever reason. There’s no control over that. ”

“The goal is longevity,” he adds. “Not to have one big shining moment, and then you’re gone. It just is.”

How Chris Young Really Defines Success

Young’s definition of success is refreshingly not about awards or accolades, or even chart positions. For Young, how he determines success all goes back to his fans.

“I just want to be friends with everybody. And I hope people like my music,” Young says.” I hope somebody somewhere right now is playing one of my songs, going, ‘That’s my favorite song.’ That’s all I care about. I think that’s all any of us care about, really. Maybe that’s my time in the business showing. I don’t know. But. I want people to hear songs off this new record, and be like, ‘That’s my new favorite. I want that.'”

Young is also a big advocate of other artists, even those he might be competing with for time on the radio.

“Some of my favorite people that I’ve heard in a long time, have come out very recently…I think there’s room for everybody,” the 40-year-old says. “I think sometimes the work that gets put in doesn’t get to get seen when you expect it to be seen, and everything is in His time.”

Young has a Top 40 hit right now with “‘Til The Last One Dies.” The song is from Young’s forthcoming I Didn’t Come Here To Leave album. Find all of Young’s music and upcoming shows, including his It Must Be Christmas Acoustic Tour dates, at ChrisYoungCountry.com.

Photo Credit: John Shearer