Chris Janson Biography

Chris Janson (born April 2, 1986) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has written singles for Justin Moore and Tim McGraw among others, and has released two extended plays: one for Bigger Picture Music Group and one for Columbia Records. Janson's biggest hit was "Buy Me a Boat" in 2015, which was a Top 5 hit on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts.

Musical career

Janson was born April 2, 1986 in Perryville, Missouri. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee after finishing high school.

In June 2009, Janson co-wrote and recorded two duets with Holly Williams on her album Here with Me: "I Hold On" and "A Love I Think Will Last". Janson signed to BNA Records in October 2009 and released his debut single, "'Til a Woman Comes Along," in April 2010. Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the single a five-star rating, with his review praising Janson's vocals as well as the arrangement. The song debuted at No. 56 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts dated for the week ending May 1, 2010.

After BNA was re-structured, Janson left the label. He co-wrote Tim McGraw's 2012 single "Truck Yeah", played harmonica on Lee Brice's album Hard 2 Love, and wrote the title track to Justin Moore's 2013 album Off the Beaten Path. Janson has also had additional songs recorded by Hank Williams, Jr., Tim McGraw, Randy Houser, Joe Nichols, Parmalee, Frankie Ballard, Tyler Farr, Jerrod Niemann, Craig Campbell, JB and the Moonshine Band, and LoCash.

In 2013, he signed to Bigger Picture Music Group and released "Better I Don't." Janson wrote the song with his wife, Kelly, and Pat Bunch, and Keith Stegall produced it. "Better I Don't" peaked at number 40 on Country Airplay in mid 2013. A second single, "Cut Me Some Slack", peaked at number 60 before Bigger Picture closed in 2014. That same year, Columbia Records released Take It to the Bank, which included "Til a Woman Comes Along" and other songs that he had recorded while on BNA.

Janson self-released the single "Buy Me a Boat" in early 2015. The song debuted at No. 33 on Hot Country Songs after it received airplay on the Bobby Bones Show. It was officially released as a single via Warner Bros. Records Nashville in May 2015, and became Janson's first top 5 hit by August. In September, Janson announced that his debut studio album, also titled Buy Me a Boat, would be released on October 30. "Buy Me a Boat" peaked at No. 3 on Country Airplay and No. 1 on Mediabase. The album's second single is "Power of Positive Drinkin'". Also in 2015, Janson co-wrote LoCash's "I Love This Life". Also in 2016, Janson co-wrote Randy Houser's "Song Number 7".

Musical stylings

Nashville Gab wrote that "He is explosive on stage and completely unpredictable. I compare his live set to a wild horse, it's not meant to be tamed. He brings a blue-collar, redneck edge to every show that seems to be lacking in country music these days. Chris Janson is the future of country music..."

Personal life

Chris Janson is married to Kelly Lynn. They have four children, two of which are from Lynn's previous marriage .

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions		Sales
		US Country	US
Buy Me a Boat	Release date: October 30, 2015 Label: Warner Bros. Records	4	18	US: 83,700

Extended plays

Title	Details	Peak chart positions		Sales
		US Country	US Heat
Chris Janson	Release date: September 3, 2013 Label: Bigger Picture Music Group	47	27
Take It to the Bank	Release date: February 25, 2014 Label: Columbia Nashville	"?	"?	US: 5,000
""?" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions					Certifications	Sales	Album
		US Country	US Country Airplay	US	CAN Country	CAN
2010	"'Til a Woman Comes Along"	52	52	"?	"?	"?			Take It to the Bank
2013	"Better I Don't"	"?	40	"?	"?	"?			Chris Janson
	"Cut Me Some Slack"	"?	60	"?	"?	"?
2015	"Buy Me a Boat"	2	3	41	2	50	US: Platinum	US: 890,000	Buy Me a Boat
	"Power of Positive Drinkin'"	46	35	"?	49	"?
2016	"Holdin Her"A		58
""?" denotes releases that did not chart

• ^ACurrent single

Promotional singles

Year	Single
2013	"Tomahawk"
2014	"Hang On"
2015	"Outlaw Ways"

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
2010	"'Til a Woman Comes Along"	Chris Hicky
2013	"Better I Don't"	Wes Edwards
2015	"Buy Me a Boat"	P. R. Brown
2016	"Power of Positive Drinkin'"	Michael Monaco
	"Holdin' Her"	Edgar Esteves