Chayce Beckham on chart-topping '23' and how his story-expanding new album highlights 'The things I love about country music'

In 2021, California resident Chayce Beckham joined the lineage of artists whose talent captured the ears and hearts of viewers during his winning streak American Idol. But the narrow passage from talent contest to bona fide star is littered with artists who never made that transition.

Beckham is not among them – thanks to '23', which was his new first Advertising sign Country Airplay's No. 1 hit, which topped the chart last week (chart dated April 6). Along the way, he joins an elite class Idol winners to earn a Country Airplay No. 1, including Carrie Underwood, Scotty McCreery and Kelly Clarkson. Additionally, “23” was written solo by Beckham. the song became just the sixth song produced by a solo writer to reach No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart in the past decade — and in the process, staked his claim not just as a songwriter, but as an artist intent on telling his story in his own way.

“I've been working on this song for a long time and it's got a new life on the radio,” he says Advertising sign from “23.” “Just to see it open up to a whole new audience this past year has been special.”

On Friday (April 5), he will build on his success with the release of his debut album, Bad for mevia 19 Recordings/Wheelhouse Records/BMG.

“The last few years, I feel like I just put my head down and just kept trucking and working as hard as I could,” Beckham said. Advertising sign. “I just wanted to make a record that I felt highlighted all the things I love about country music, like fiddles, guitars, mandolins, harmonies, and storytelling.”

He co-wrote nine of the album's 13 songs, with three of those nine compositions being solo. Many of the songs on the project, including the title track, as well as “Devil I've Been” and “Addicted and Clean,” offer unflinching honesty, drawing from his own struggles just weeks before American Idol hearing. These hardships included the death of his grandfather, the end of his girlfriend's relationship, and the breakup of a former band during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Beckham coped with heavy drinking, which led to a DUI and a near-fatal car accident in 2020.

During his recovery, his mother encouraged him to try American Idol. A song on his new album, “Mama”, which he wrote in 2021 and performed Idolis a musical mea culpa and apology that confronts its history head-on with lines like “All the pain you've felt, I hope you never have to feel it again/ And the night you took me from jail and I swore I never would again.”

“Songs like 'Mama' and 'Drink You Off My Mind' were all written at the same time and come from a personal place,” Beckham said. “Writing is always therapeutic and when you finish writing a good song or a song you like, it's so nice to get it off your chest. This album is so special to me because I feel like it has that emotional connection with me, regardless of whether a song is a hit record or not.”

That Idol the audition turned out to be life-changing. Now, Beckham is signed to KP Entertainment, the same management company that guides his career American Idol jUdge and country hitmaker Luke Bryan; Beckham, who has been backed by UTA for bookings, currently headlines his own slate of shows and will join Luke Bryan's Mind of a Country Boy tour this summer.

Beckham, Advertising signApril's Rookie of the Month discusses his new album below, as well as his experiences as a co-writer and the rock band that inspires him.

Several songs on this album, including “Devil I've Been” and “Addicted and Clean” touch on trying to move on from past decisions that had bad consequences. Why was it important to include it here?

I had a lot of things I wanted to say and I think I struggled to find the words to say it just in conversation, but I was able to communicate a lot of my feelings through these songs and through the music. Once my life goes in a different direction – maybe becoming a dad or a husband and stuff, I might start singing about that too. But I think right now I'm still very much in the phase of remembering the last 10 years and writing songs about it.

Throughout the album, you have several writers whose names appear multiple times, such as Andy Albert, John Pierce, and Lindsay Rimes. What was it like finding a group of writers to help you tell your stories?

There are people who, whenever I moved to town, really took the time to get to know me and understand the kind of music I wanted to make. We were able to keep going back to writing rooms and finding hit songs. Those were the guys who wrote most of this record with me and I couldn't have done it without them. But also, when I first got to Nashville, I thought I was going to write everything, and I never thought about cutting other people's songs. But once I got involved in the songwriting community, it was something I wanted to support and be a part of.

“Waylon in '75” is one of only four tracks on the album that you didn't write. What stood out about it?

Yes, this is a song that just heard it, for sure, it made my head spin. The first line drew me in and the title, before I even heard the song. I got lucky with this one and jumped on it very quickly. We went into the studio and did our best to do what we could, and I love the way this came out. I think it sets the tone very well.

What are some of your favorite Waylon songs?

“Lonesome, On'ry and Mean” is good, but so is “Good Hearted Woman” with Willie [Nelson] … I'm always very inspired by the outlaw scene. And before that, Johnny Cash, before the Outlaw music, was one of my biggest inspirations. So I'm just paying homage to those guys that really got me into country music when I was a little kid.

Producer Bart Butler produced nearly every song on the album. What made you want to work with him on this project?

He's done a lot of things that I admire, and I think that was a great starting point – a lot of Jon Pardi's stuff. We were on the same page from the beginning — we knew the direction we were trying to take with the record.

Who are some artists you would like to work with?

There are so many people who are just killing it. I've always wanted to work with Lainey Wilson or Chris Stapleton. I'm also a fan of guys like Zach Top who are coming up right now. I've been talking to my friend Elvis Shane about doing something and Drake Milligan. There are a lot of people going down this really country route who are making great music.

What was it like performing some of the newer songs with your band and introducing them to your audience?

Our last three, four shows, we've been playing a whole new set. We play most of the record, and it was nice to see the reactions of the audience.

What are some of your favorite records that have inspired you?

One of my favorite bands is The Doors and theirs [1967] The self-titled album is amazing. When you listen to it, there's a point where you can tell they were in the studio all day trying to make the album and they got to a point where they were like, “This is the best it's going to get.” Let's move on to the next song.' Because you can hear there's a little smell, there's a little slide in a guitar solo or Jim [Morrison]his voice might have cracked, or the drums were slightly off or something, but they just left it there.

There was something about those songs that made me fall in love with those records, because it felt human. These incredible musicians I look up to, even these guys are subject to mistakes. I feel like that inspired me to make the music that I make, music that is honest and not so picture perfect.