Kane Brown

Blending hip-hop-influenced R&B with confessional pop, Kane Brown defied country conventions with his string of Billboard Country Airplay number one hits in the late 2010s. On his singles, Brown alternated between romantic slow jams and party numbers ripe for remixes and collaborations by the likes of Khalid and Marshmello — a fluid mix suited for a variety of genres or moods. Brown’s versatility disguised a candidly emotional and autobiographical streak that surfaced on his albums, an element that added dimension to his music even when it wound up as an accent on a collection of savvy modern pop as it did on Different Man, the 2022 album that confirmed his status as one of the more distinctive country stars of his era.
Kane Allen Brown was born in 1993 in Chattanooga, Tennessee to a white mother and African-American father. He spent much of his youth living with his mother in Redbank, Tennessee, where he first became interested in music while in high school. Initially attracted to R&B, Brown decided to focus on country after winning an 11th grade talent contest with his rendition of Chris Young’s “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song).” Buoyed by that success, Brown began posting videos online of covers of songs by Brantley Gilbert, Alan Jackson, and others. He quickly developed a loyal following, a fan base that helped his own single, “Don’t Go City on Me,” go viral upon its release in 2014. In 2015, Brown released his debut EP, Closer, which reached the Top Ten of the Billboard Country Albums chart. Following Closer, he also released the stand-alone single “Used to Love You Sober.”
In early 2016, Brown signed a recording contract with RCA/Sony Music Nashville. That December, he returned with his eponymous full-length debut, Kane Brown, featuring the singles “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” and “Thunder in the Rain.” The album debuted at number one on the country charts and peaked at number ten on the Billboard 200. Two more singles, “What Ifs,” featuring Lauren Alaina, and “Heaven” appeared in 2017.
“Lose It,” the first single from Kane Brown’s second album, appeared in June 2018. It climbed to number one on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart prior to Experiment’s release in November. Experiment debuted at number one on Billboard’s Top 200 and spawned two more number one Country Airplay singles with “Good as You” and “Homesick” arriving in January and August of 2019, respectively. Also in 2019, he joined DJ Marshmello for the single “One Right Thing” and cracked the Top 20 of the Billboard Country chart with his song “For My Daughter.”
As Experiment wound down its album cycle in 2020, Brown released Mixtape, Vol. 1 in August of that year. The EP was highlighted by the hit single “Cool Again.” Following the Chris Young collaboration “Famous Friends,” Brown teamed up with Blackbear for 2021′s “Memory.” The number one Billboard Country Airplay solo single “One Mississippi” arrived later that year, opening up a series of singles released in advance of his 2022 album Different Man. Prior to the September appearance of Different Man, “Like I Love Country Music” topped the Billboard Country Airplay Charts, with the promo singles “Whiskey Sour” and “Leave You Alone” helping build anticipation for the record’s release. Largely produced by Dann Huff, Different Man was an exercise in genre-fluid country, finding Brown attempting everything from R&B to stripped-down balladeering. He co-wrote all but one of the album’s 17 songs, collaborating with such professional songwriters as Josh Hoge, Devin Dawson, and Matt McGinn. ~ Matt Collar