Chris Janson on Not Everything You See on Social Media is True: ‘Everybody’s Got Problems’

If you’ve ever scrolled through Instagram and TikTok and thought, “Wow, everyone has their life together but me,” country star Chris Janson would like a word with you. The “Buy Me a Boat” singer, who seems to radiate positivity and wisdom in every song, has been candid about something we all need to hear (and sometimes be reminded of on a daily basis): not everything you see online is real.  

In a recent interview, Janson warns of the downside of social media, something that was also reflected in one of his songs, “The Broken,” from his latest album, Wild Horses.  

Janson mentioned a specific line from the track: “You don’t know where people have been or how much hell they’re going through.” He elaborated, “Everybody's got problems, and we mask it so well because society teaches us to mask it. It teaches us to just forget about it and post a picture on social media and pretend that you're happy, and most people are actually miserable.”  

The singer-songwriter also pointed out how “people are scared to tell the truth.” Kind of similar to when someone asks us how we are, and our automatic reply is “I’m fine,” even if we really are not. He reiterated it’s not our fault, it’s just what society expects from us.   

Janson’s epiphanies and realizations were brought by his latest album with songs that are deeper than just party anthems and bangers. He said that the songs address problems that we all face: “Even now, there's things that I'm going through, y'know, you wish were a little better here and there, but everybody's got problems.”  

During his co-hosting gig at Backstage Country, Janson explained why his latest album is named Wild Horses. The Missouri native explained, “Wild horses were never meant to be tamed. And if you go out west, you can still see packs of wild Mustangs. And I mean, it really does epitomize. Like I said, where I'm at in my life and how I am and these things.”  

He added, “At this point in life, I'm like, ‘I don't care. I don't care.’ And that's kind of where I'm at in my life. I am mature enough to understand things better and young enough to still be in it.”  

Janson elaborated, “I just write my songs. I write them as honest as I can and I sing them the best I can. I record them the best I can, the easiest way I can. This is not rocket science stuff. For a lot of years, I've wasted a lot of time, energy, and labels. And trying to make it something that it's maybe not. This is just a very honest album. Just write the songs at the cabin, record on the same day.”  

Listen to his latest album here.