Chris Stapleton and His Rise from Songwriter to Superstar Without Reality TV

In a time when artists get their big break from reality TV, Chris Stapleton managed to break through without a golden ticket to Nashville from a singing competition. No confetti cannons, no sob backstories edited for prime-time TV, just pure talent in singing and songwriting, a guitar, and one of the most recognizable voices in country music.  

While others worry about votes, Stapleton honed his craft as a songwriter, fronting bands, and just getting out there and getting known for his raw talent.    

Born in Lexington, Kentucky, on April 15, 1978, Stapleton grew up in rural, mountainous Johnson County in eastern Kentucky. His family has a deep coal mining heritage, with his father, Herbert Joseph Stapleton Jr., working as a coal miner and electrical engineer until his death.  

During high school, Stapleton excelled academically and in sports. He graduated valedictorian while playing football at Johnson Central High School in Paintsville. He’s also been musically inclined; his musical influences included Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. He’s also been exposed to other genres like blues, soul, R&B, and rap artists like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.   

Stapleton moved to Nashville in 1996, not to pursue a career in music but to study biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University. However, he lacked passion for his studies and returned home to Kentucky after the first year.  

After returning from Vanderbilt, Stapleton started doing various jobs; he sold cars, drove an ice truck, and worked at a pizzeria while writing songs and performing in bars. According to him, he liked driving an ice truck because it involved filling ice coolers at gas stations and driving around rural areas, which he found both physical and contemplative.   

He considers selling cars as his worst job since it involved long hours and stress (no wonder he only lasted for approximately three months!) He also said, “Everybody hates a car salesman!”  

Fortunately, Stapleton had his fortunate break when he landed a position as a staff songwriter in Nashville just four days after moving back in 2001, following encouragement from songwriter Steve Leslie and Liz O’Sullivan of Sea Gayle Music. Stapleton signed with Sea Gayle Music publishing company, which was co-founded by Brad Paisley, Frank Rogers, and Chris DuBois. For his prolific career as a songwriter over the next decade, writing more than one thousand songs, he credits his relationship with Sea Gayle Music, specifically O’Sullivan, for much of his songwriting success.   

Before his solo career, Stapleton already achieved success as a songwriter and managed to establish his credibility without needing reality TV exposure. He’s got six number-one singles for other artists, including Kenny Chesney’s five-week number one “Never Wanted Nothing More", Josh Turner's "Your Man", George Strait's "Love's Gonna Make It Alright", and Luke Bryan's "Drink a Beer". He’s also got songwriting credits on albums for major artists including Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, and Taylor Swift.  

His recent collaborations show his continued relevance and how other artists still recognize his brilliance: co-writing a song for Post Malone's album F-1 Trillion and performing "California Sober" at the CMA Awards, collaborating with Slash on "Oh Well" for Slash's solo album Orgy Of the Damned, and collaborating with Dua Lipa on "Think I'm In Love With You" from his 2023 album Higher. This also demonstrates that his songwriting credibility is acknowledged across multiple genres.  

The release of Traveller and his explosive performance at the 2015 CMA Awards are a pivotal moment in his career. His debut solo album, released on May 5, 2015, peaked at the top of the US Billboard 200 and received septuple platinum certification by the RIAA. The album also spent 500 weeks on the Billboard 200, reaching No. 91 currently and selling 12,700 equivalent units in a recent frame, with total sales of 2 million copies in the US by July 2017.  

The album is an old-school country and Southern rock record featuring electric guitar, mandolin, and acoustic guitar. He also won three awards during the 2015 CMA Awards, including Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and New Artist of the Year.  

Although many favorite artists nowadays were featured on modern singing competitions, Stapleton was never a contestant on shows like The Voice or American Idol (he did perform on The Voice in 2017).  

His established industry relationships, songwriting credibility, and band experience created a more sustainable foundation for success. There are significant challenges reality TV contestants face, such as recoupable costs in record deals with American Idol contestants circa 2018, facing costs of around $300,000, only receiving about 12% of album proceeds, with additional deductions for producer royalties, resulting in minimal earnings per album sale, and producers having significant control over song selections. This demonstrates that Stapleton’s organic industry development was more advantageous than the reality TV route.