Country star Chris Young talks about his 'insane' year ahead of Coliseum show

For Chris Young, “Losing Sleep” isn’t just the name of his country chart-topping album and current tour. It’s a way of life.

How else could the Tennessee singer-songwriter manage to write and record a new album while he was on his first tour as an arena headliner this year, racking up his fifth consecutive No. 1 country single with “Hangin’ On,” and landing a Male Vocalist of the Year nomination from the Academy of Country Music?

“I don’t like downtime,” Young says, laughing, as he calls from his Nashville home on his annual Thanksgiving break. “I’m constantly writing new music. It’s just the pace that I’ve been on. I really haven’t slowed down at all.”

Since getting his big break from winning “Nashville Star” in 2006, Young has essentially put out an album every two years for RCA Nashville, though he has put out an album every year since 2015 if you count his 2016 holiday album, “It Must Be Christmas.” And as his “Losing Sleep” tour, which stops at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on Friday, Dec. 7, winds down, Young is already promising fans new music “sooner rather than later.”

He debuted a new song, “Raised on Country,” on his social media accounts in November, even before it was finished because he was so excited about the song, which he co-wrote with longtime collaborator and co-producer Corey Crowder and songwriter Cary Barlowe.

“It’s not something I’ve done very often,” Young says. “But I just wanted to play it for people.”

The lyrics for the still-unreleased track pay tribute to plenty of Young’s idols. "I was raised on Merle, raised on Willie, got my honky-tonk attitude from Joe Diffie,” he sings, name-checking Haggard and Nelson. “Daddy did, too, it's family tradition. . . . My upbringing sounds like George Strait singing 'cause if you know me, I was raised on country.”

Young laughs at the idea that he could be heading toward consideration for that kind of company himself, following his 11th No. 1 single, but being part of the country tradition means a lot to him. “I’m very thankful for the music I grew up on,” he says. “So many people influenced me in big and little ways. I think that goes for everybody. Music is based on what came before. This is an anthem about that and I haven’t really had a big country anthem yet.”

Young says the songs he has been working on this year are not as polished as the ones on last year’s “Losing Sleep.”

“Every record I make is different,” he says, “Sonically, there’s a lot more organic sounds compared to the last record. It’s a different take we went for on this record. And topically, we address things we haven’t necessarily done before. After losing somebody last spring, I’m writing about different subject matters. The songs are a bit more personal, which I haven’t done a lot of before.”

While some artists say they need some time out living more regular lives to find inspiration, Young says he has been inspired by all the successes he has seen in 2018.

“It’s been an absolutely insane year,” he says. “I think what happened with (‘Hangin’ On’) was the most surprising. I’m just incredibly happy right now, not just with my career.”

“Hangin’ On” was released as a single in February and spent the bulk of the year climbing the country charts, before hitting the top in November. “It’s the only time I’ve had a No. 1 the week of the CMA Awards,” he says. “It was great walking the red carpet with the No. 1 single.”

A bigger thrill for Young, who grew up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, going to shows at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, came when he headlined that arena for the first time. “I went to so many concerts there,” he says. “I used to get the cheapest ticket you could get. To get a chance to pack that place out, it’s just gonna be one of those shows that’s going to be tough to top. I hope to play stadiums some day, but that show is going to be one of a kind.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean Young won’t try. He plans to tease more new material over the holidays, after wrapping up the “Losing Sleep” tour.

“People have already been telling me, ‘I can’t believe you’re already going to have new music,’ ” Young says. “It’s wild to think about it that way. The way I look at it is that I’m going to have another touring cycle next year and it’s time for some new music.

“Did I mention that I don’t like downtime?” he asks, with a laugh.