By all standards, Brett Young is a successful country music singer these days, but there were plenty of years when he questioned whether it was just a selfish dream that he should give up. When asked about the biggest obstacle he had to overcome, Brett says, “It’s probably the same for everybody. It’s a long grind and a lot of it is super thankless and you’re gonna be faced with a decision at some point, because it seems like you should probably go do something else because it hasn’t happened yet … And I think the hardest thing for me was – and it happened multiple times – when it feels like maybe it’s time to like, ‘Alright, that was fun. I tried.’
Part of what kept Brett from giving up were some wise words from his friend, Gavin DeGraw. “I forget exactly how he worded it,” says Brett, “but Gavin said something to me years ago and it was something like, ‘If you can be happy doing anything besides music, then do anything besides music. But if that’s the only thing that’ll make you happy, then that’s your dream and don’t let anybody tell you how long it should take, or what it should look like.”
Interestingly, Brett revealed that by the time he moved to Nashville he had given up on the idea of being an artist, and was ready to pursue a career as a songwriter. But Brett always says, “If you want to make God laugh tell Him your plans.”
Brett has definitely become a prolific songwriter, writing ten of the 13 songs on his new album, including his latest single, “Here Tonight,” but he’s also getting to live out his dream of recording and performing his songs as an artist.
Brett Young – biggest obstacle overcame :55
“It’s probably the same for everybody. It’s a long grind and a lot of it is super thankless and you’re gonna be faced with a decision at some point, because it seems like you should probably go do something else because it hasn’t happened yet. I forget exactly how he worded it but Gavin said something to me years ago and it was something like, ‘If you can be happy doing anything besides music, then do anything besides music. But if that’s the only thing that’ll make you happy, then that’s your dream and don’t let anybody tell you how long it should take, or what it should look like. And I think the hardest thing for me was – and it happened multiple times – when it feels like maybe it’s time to like, ‘Alright, that was fun. I tried.’ And I have a ton of those moments and I think those were the hardest moments because you feel like you’re being selfish or irresponsible to keep pressing on, even though that was what you were supposed to do. And so, I think kind of reconciling that conflict has been the hardest thing for me. Thank God it worked out. I moved to Nashville to actually walk away from the artist side and focus on the writing side. I always say if you want to make God laugh tell Him your plans.”