When Chris Young Shares the Mic: Duets and Collaborations Throughout His Career

Since winning Nashville Star back in 2006, Chris Young has managed to pair up with some of the music industry’s biggest names to deliver unforgettable performances, ballads, and the occasional party anthem that’ll have you singing along at full volume.  

From his early days trying to find his footing in the industry to becoming one of the genre’s hitmakers, Young has mastered the art of collaborating without losing his signature sound. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and revisit the times he decided to share the mic and remind us why country duets never go out of style.  

Young’s tenth single, which reached No. 1, is his collaboration with Kane Brown. “Famous Friends” achieved 3x Platinum. He said of the song, “Kane and I have gotten to know each other over the years, from him being on tours with me, from us writing together, from me guesting on his album in the past. All of this stuff came together. ‘Famous Friends’ is fun, it's super uptempo, and I got to sing with my buddy Kane. All of this worked out as perfect as it possibly could on one song.”  

Aside from being No. 1 and achieving Platinum certification, the duet was also recognized as Billboard’s most-played country radio single of 2021.  

One of Young’s collaborative hits, “Think of You” with Cassadee Pope, peaked at No. 1 on both the Country Airplay and Canada Country charts. The track also achieved 2x Platinum certification from the RIAA. The song captures the dual perspectives of a man and a woman after a breakup, showing how their friends still associate one with the other, and maybe even hope they’ll get back together: “We used to be the life of the party / We used to be the ones that they wished they were / But now it's like they don't know how to act / Maybe they're like me and they want us back / It's like there's always an empty space / Those memories that nobody can erase / Of how bright we burned / Well now it hurts, but it's true / When they think of me, they think of you.”  

It’s the only fifth duet between a solo male and female to reach No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart since its inception in 1990.  

Another chart-topper, “At the End of a Bar,” became Young’s thirteenth No. 1 single as a single, eleventh as a songwriter, and Tenpenny’s first. The song had an interesting backstory: it happened during a Nashville snowstorm. During a writing session at Chris DeStefano’s home in Brentwood, the song was finished in 45 minutes. Despite the city-wide shutdown, Young’s FOMO made the session push through, even if there was an ice storm.   

The third and final single from Young’s 2015 album, I’m Comin’ Over, released in 2015, “Sober Saturday Night," his duet with Vince Gill, is one of his most heartbreaking songs. The song reached No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart, No. 4 on the Hot Country Songs, and No. 47 on the Billboard 100.  

The track talks about a sober Saturday night, nursing a broken heart without the help of alcohol, and waking up on a Sunday feeling messed up and strung out, opting to not be out there “getting high underneath some neon lights / Ain't no whiskey strong enough to make things right / I'm just getting over another sober Saturday night.”  

His partnerships and collaborations added depth and credibility to his catalog and provided learning opportunities for him. It also demonstrated his versatility as a singer-songwriter and his understanding of how to effectively connect with other artists.