Chris Young is now officially the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry. The “Losing Sleep” singer performed several songs — including his hits “Getting You Home” and “I’m Comin’ Over,” along with “Devil Woman” by Marty Robbins and Keith Whitley‘s “When You Say Nothing at All” — before he was inducted into the hallowed organization by his good friend Brad Paisley.
“This is a really big deal. You know that,” Paisley told Young from stage. “Chris is one of those people who will make the most of this. You are a great guy — I say that with all my heart … This is a great human being. That’s what the Opry needs.”
Readers can press play above to watch Paisley’s full speech in Young’s honor. After accepting his Opry trophy, and before Cassadee Pope joined him onstage to sing his final song of the night, “Think of You,” Young was a man of few words while accepting his honor: “The two best words I can think of are ‘thank you,'” he stated simply.
Prior to his induction, however, Young took time to meet with The Boot and other media outlets and share his thoughts on the historic night.
“Is there anything that I feel like I could put over this for relevance and the amount of how big an honor it is to be asked to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry?” Young shared. “No.”
Young, who recalled, as a child, throwing flowers onto the Opry stage during a performance by Loretta Lynn, says it’s the Grand Ole Opry’s reverence for the artists that have come before him that keeps drawing him back.
“Any given show at the Grand Ole Opry is not only a snapshot of the present and a look at the future, but it’s also that respect of the past,” he explains. “As far as being an artist in country music — where we came from and what our music started as, whether it’s going back to 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago, however far back you go — looking at the thread of where you’re at now, where that got started. And I think that that’s something you get a glimpse of; you get a glimpse of all sides and all parts of country music in every show at the Opry, and that’s one of the reasons that I love the Opry.”
In addition to being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry this week, Young’s latest album, Losing Sleep, will be released on Friday (Oct. 20). The project is available for pre-order via Amazon and iTunes.
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This Article Was Originally Posted at www.TheBoot.com
