To say that the past twelve months have been insane for country music duo, American Young, would be a big understatement. Together, musicians Kristy Osmunson and Jon Stone have finished a tour with High Valley, thrown the first pitch at a Nashville Sounds game, performed at the 2017 CMA Music Festival, headlined a European tour, scored a nomination at the British Country Music Awards, and released a brand new single.
Phew, we’re exhausted just thinking about their schedule!
That brand new single is called, “Better On You,” and quite simply we think it’s one of the best country songs out right now. American Young have really outdone themselves with it and we cannot wait to watch the track grow and climb the charts in the coming weeks.
“Better On You,” which was released to celebrate American Young’s recent nomination at the British Country Music Awards was penned by Jon Stone with Matt Alderman and Billy Montana and honestly it’s the country song we all needed. The upbeat tempo of the track combined with Jon and Kristy’s vocals creates nothing short of perfection.
The single is reminiscent of The Civil Wars, but we could also see it nicely settling at the top of the pop charts due to the fact that it reminds us of Coldplay’s, “A Sky Full Of Stars,” thus making it a great country-pop crossover hit. But make no mistake… “Better On You,” can absolutely hold its own as not only one of American Young’s best songs, but also as one of the best country songs out now.
You can check out the acoustic version of, “Better On You,” right here:
Following the success of their recent eleven-date European tour and ahead of their return to the UK for the 2017 British Country Music Awards, we caught up with American Young to talk about all things music, touring and their plans for the future.
Here’s what they told us exclusively:
For those who aren’t familiar with you yet, could you tell us about how you both met and became American Young?
“We met by chance. Jon was celebrating writing his first number one as a songwriter for Lee Brice and they were playing in a round, and I (Kristy) had just moved on from another band. Jon and I had started talking about music and collaborating together and after the first song we sang together, we knew there was something greater than the two of us by ourselves.”
Now we know you are both incredible songwriters and between you, you have penned songs for Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton and Joey + Rory but is there one legendary song that you really wish you had written?
“Yes, but we haven’t written it yet.”
You’re going to be returning to the UK in October for the British Country Music Awards. How does it feel to be nominated for such an award, and what was your reaction when you heard the news?
“We were thrilled! We can’t thank the UK enough for allowing us to tour this beautiful country and to perform our music. We are just so thankful that we have fans that have embraced our music.”
You recently released the single, “Better On You,” to celebrate your big nomination, but why did you choose to release that song in particular?
“We love all our songs so when we turned our album in to the label, we felt comfortable that any one could be a single then when they told us this one would be released we were so excited. Just to have the opportunity to get music out makes us happy!”
“Better On You,” is quite an upbeat song and it brings a smile to our face every time we listen to it, but what was the inspiration behind it?
“Love.”
Who were your biggest musical influences growing up and how have they inspired your music today?
“Mozart, Beethoven, Zeppelin, Stones, Metallica, Madonna, Patsy Cline. We feel like they are a part of us. Sometimes that’s through our lyrics and sometimes it’s through how we perform on stage. They’re all artists in the purest form.”
You recently completed a European tour. How was it?
“Amazing. We love Europe and the music fans that live there. We feel welcome every time we come and visit.”
What are the best and worst parts about touring?
“We love being on the road because it means we are playing shows and connecting with new fans every day. We enjoy getting our music out. Sometimes we find a city we would like to spend more than one day in but the schedule keeps us moving on… It just means we have to go back to the city and play another show!”
What are your plans for the next year or so?
“We’re working on a new album which we hope to tour with. We love making music and we hope it connects with an audience.”
And finally, do you have a message for your fans?
“We love our fans and anyone who supports our music! We are so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to travel the world and to experience so many different cultures and the one thing that doesn’t change is the appreciation of music from city to city. We would tell our fans to, ‘Love Life, Live Music’.”
We want to send a big thank you to Kristy and Jon for taking the time to talk to us and we wish them the best of luck with their Best International Touring Act nomination… We have everything crossed!
And if you haven’t done so already, make sure to pick up a copy of the duo’s debut album right here.
What do you think of American Young’s latest single Better On You? Are you rooting for them at the British Country Music Awards? Let us know on Twitter at, @CelebMix.