About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2018)
Nick Bowman Features Editor | 770-718-3426 | life@gainesvilletimes.com She (Times gainesvilletimes.com Tuesday, November 6, 2018 ‘New school meets old school country’ Country singer Kane Brown’s 2016 self-titled debut album and its deluxe release last year spawned two multi-platinum hits, “Heaven” and “What Ifs,” but the breakout star was snubbed at the Country Music Association Awards this year. ‘I wanted to call it “Experiment” because it’s all kinds of different sounds. We have a bunch of instruments on there that are basically going extinct, like the fiddle, the steel guitar, the slide ....We basically did like a new school meets old school country on some of them.’ Kane Brown, country music singer Kane Brown poses in the press room with his awards for favorite male country artist, favorite album for “Kane Brown” and favorite song for “Heaven” at the American Music Awards on Tuesday, Oct. 9, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Kane Brown brings old instruments, new sounds to Nashville BY KRISTIN M. HALL Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Billboard charts and streaming services truly dig rising country star Kane Brown. But the industry vot ers at the Country Music Association Awards? Not as much. Despite being the genre’s most successful new artist, Kane Brown was snubbed at the 2018 CMAs, but he’s still going to the awards show on Nov. 14 anyway. “I was upset a little bit just because I felt like we had a very good year,” said 25-year-old Brown, who will release his sophomore album, “Experiment,” on Friday. “I felt like me and Luke Combs and Brett Young were the most-talked about (artists) of the year. I felt like I should have at least been recognized.” Combs and Young were both nominated for new art ist of the year, and Combs got a male vocalist nomination as well. Brown, whose Dec. 2016 self-titled debut album and deluxe reissue last year spawned two multi-plati num hits — “Heaven” and “What Ifs” — was included on the second-round bal lot for multiple categories, including new artist, but ulti mately didn’t make it into the final five in those cat egories, according to a CMA spokeswoman. “But I don’t have any hurt feelings,” Brown said in a recent interview on his tour bus in Nashville, Tennessee, as he prepared to play an opening slot at the Bridges tone Arena for Chris Young. “I’ll still be at the show and I will still be rooting for every body that got nominated. All those people are still family. I wish good on everybody and I’m not really hurt at all.” Although he’s one of coun try music’s next big stars, Brown still has an underdog mentality, which goes back to his upbringing in rural Georgia and being raised by a single mom. “I feel like I am the out sider on the inside, if that makes sense,” Brown said. “But I have coped with it.” His manager, Martha Earls, said his lack of CMA nominations mean there’s still a lot of people in Nash ville who don’t understand him. “The fans really want him. But the CMAs are industry- voted,” Earls said. “And so there’s a lot of politics involved in that.” Brown has had to walk a lot more miles than most new artists to get to where he is today, Earls said. “He came to town and immediately everyone was suspicious of him because they couldn’t understand how somebody could break on social media,” Earls said. “There were obviously stereotypes against him because he’s bi-racial and he has a ton of tattoos and he doesn’t look like your stereo typical country artist.” Brown built his fan base through his Facebook page, doing covers of country songs that were amassing millions of views. His debut album achieved platinum status and topped Billboard’s country albums chart for 12 weeks. He topped all five Billboard country charts simultaneously at one point this year, making him the first artist ever to do so. “Heaven,” which peaked at No. 15 on the all-genre Hot 100 chart, is the second most- streamed country song of the year behind the record- breaking hit “Meant to Be,” by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line. Although country radio was slow to respond, fans immediately connected to the soft-spoken singer-song- writer with the deep voice. On his first album, Brown opened up to fans about his background, being abused as a kid and not fitting in at school because of his clothes and his skin color. He’s won big at fan-voted awards show, sweeping the country categories at the 2018 American Music Awards with three wins and picking up a CMT Music Award for “What Ifs,” his No. 1 hit featuring Lauren Alaina. And although Brown would have likely been a strong contender for best new artist at the 2019 Gram- mys, he is ineligible because he’s released too many songs, Earls said. “I feel like our industry sometimes doesn’t recognize the artists that are making the biggest impact,” Earls said. Brown, who recently got married to singer Katelyn Jae, sounds like a young man deeply in love and coming into his own on his new album. His voice car ries more confidence as he explores his love of ’90s-era country music, while also incorporating elements of R&B and pop. “I wanted to call it ‘Exper iment’ because it’s all kinds of different sounds,” Brown said. “We have a bunch of instruments on there that are basically going extinct, like the fiddle, the steel gui tar, the slide.... We basically did like a new school meets old school country on some of them.” He’s become a fast learner as well. When he had just 15 minutes to play as an opener for Florida Georgia Line, he studied the duo’s set to learn how to improve his own. “I’ve learned that I want to be the headliner one day,” said Brown, who will start his first headlining arena tour in January. But Brown insists that all the success hasn’t changed him. Family is one of the most important things to him, whether it’s the family MARK HUMPHREY I Associated Press JORDAN STRAUSS I Associated Press he came from or the tight crew of band members and co-writers. When he played the arena in Nashville, he brought his mother and his 88-year-old grandfather onstage and told his fans to follow their dreams. “I am very family ori ented,” Brown said. “This camp is a family. My writers are my family.” So even if part of the country music industry has not recognized him for his accomplishments, Brown said he likes proving people’s expectations of him wrong. Memories worth the time even after beauty fades Many years ago, I was visiting an elderly woman in a nursing home. I did not know her well, but I knew she was lonely so I’d try to stop in from time to time. She was approaching her mid-90s and in fairly good shape except that her mind and lively spirit had outlived her body, which had grown extremely frail and feeble. Arthritis had crippled her and turned her hands into knotted balls. She spent most of her time in a wheelchair and was usually at the mercy of the atten dants - some who were sweet, oth ers who were not. One afternoon, I found her in the common area with other resi dents. I looked around for a chair. “Before you sit down, would you bring me something from my room?” she asked. “I have some thing I want to show you. ” “Of course,” I replied. “What is it?” “A photo album.” She bright- R0NDA RICH southswomen@bellsouth.net ened considerably. “My cousin’s granddaughter brought it by.” She took it gently in her hands and patted it lovingly before open ing. It was obviously a treasure to her. The album consisted mostly of black and white photos with a smattering of color Kodak snap shots from the 1960s tossed in. “They found this in my cousin’s belongings when they were clean ing out.” She frowned. “She died three years ago. Our mothers were sisters. Her granddaughter said for me to keep it and enjoy it as long as I wanted.” She began the telling of the pho tos, most of which she knew but, from time to time, she would say something like, “I don’t know who that is. It don’t look like none of our people. Must be someone from her husband’s side of the family. They were a rowdy bunch, for the most part. But he was a good man. A fine man. Yes, he was.” At least 20 years have come and gone since that afternoon that I sat by her side, the sun streaming in from the west facing window, and listened as she recounted stories behind the photos in which she appeared. “I made that dress. Isn’t it pretty? When I saw that fabric, I knew I had to have it.” Sometimes the greatest gift we can give is a moment of kindness when we stop and listen to those who are facing, as my daddy would say, the setting of the sun. That afternoon for nigh on two hours, I listened and occasionally asked questions as she talked. And talked. And talked. Halfway through the photo album, I real ized that, except for her, everyone pictured had departed this vale of tears and sorrows. On the last page, she lingered, touching lovingly the face of her baby brother. “He died too young. A heart attack. Never been sick a day in his life.” “I know you miss them all,” I said quietly. She nodded. Her voice had a tear-cloaked tone when she spoke. “The saddest thing is that there’s no one left who remembers me when I was young.” She paused then her voice dropped to a whis per. “And pretty.” I’ve never been much good at saying the right thing in moments like that. I wish I had that gift. This was in the years before death had become too much of a con stant in my life but I had already bowed before enough graves that I knew well enough how loss feels. I squeezed her hand. “You’re still pretty.” “Pretty old.” She laughed. “You should have seen me back then.” She flipped back to the front of the album and pointed to a young woman in the prime of beauty. She was dressed in a light-colored suit, matching hat and gloves with a purse hanging in the crook of her arm. “Back then, all the boys wanted to court me.” And though there was no one else left to remember her youth, she still remembered. Vividly. And fondly. Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of several books, including “Mark My Words: A Memoir of Mama.” Sign up for her newsletter at www.rondarich.com. Her column appears Tuesdays and on www. gainesvilletimes.com.
