Up-and-coming country artist Brett Young threw one heck of a party on Tuesday (Jan. 10) to celebrate his first No. 1 single. The songwriters, his record label and industry executives partied on a Nashville rooftop to honor "Sleep Without You."
Songwriters Young, Kelly Archer and Justin Ebach met with media before the swanky hotel party to talk about the song. It all started with an idea that Young had because he was, "tired of all these songs about just sleeping with girls and running off and all that." They put a positive spin on that idea and from there "Sleep Without You" was born.
This was the trio's first time writing together and Archer credits their differences for their success.
"The fact that we all bring something a little bit different is what makes it work musically. Brett is an artist with a clear point of view ... That was a dream come true for me," she explains. Normally Archer tries to add a "feminine touch" to songs she co-writes, but with this one there was no need. "Brett's point of view was magic."
After all their hard work, they watched "Sleep Without You" climb the charts until it hit No. 1. When it did, it was time for a champagne celebration. The bubbly wasn't enough for Young, who also got a permanent reminder of his first No. 1 tattooed in black ink on his left forearm.
"It's basically the headstock of a Gibson acoustic guitar and instead of saying Gibson ... It says 'SWOY' so we put that it in the headstock and then the date that it went No. 1 and the No. 1 in the center. As we move forward hopefully we have more No. 1s but this will be the only one, the first one."
He smiles admitting that it "hurt a lot." The pain was temporary but his reminder of that momentous occasion will last forever.
