Chase Rice Goes to #1

When Chase Rice first got his start, he was turned down by label after label on Music Row. He didn't give up and he continued to write and play, building a following around the country. Then came Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise," which he co-wrote.

The songwriting chops and serious work ethic got the attention of Triple 8 Management. They signed on with Rice and helped further develop him as an artist, moving his career even farther. The labels started talking record deal then, but Chase had other ideas. He teamed up with Thirty Tigers, a label services company, EB Media, a PR firm and Sony Music Nashville for radio promotions and released Ignite the Night on his own.

The set-up, so rare that Sony Nashville Chairman and CEO Gary Overton told The Tennessean that it is unlikely to ever be repeated, worked - and it worked in a big way. Ignite the Night sold over 44,000 copies its first week and came in at #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The lead single, "Ready Set Roll" has already gone RIAA gold and broken into the Top 20.

Chase talked about how he did it with Country Music Is Love, saying, "We’ve built things a little bit differently, starting with live shows and building up our fan base through touring. Now people are showing up night after night to sing these songs right along with me, and to do it the way we’ve done it and have the No. 1 country album in the nation this week is unbelievable. It’s surreal."

He told The Tennessean that it's all because of his amazing fans. "They’re the ones who are buying the records and coming out to shows every night singing these songs, so I can’t thank them enough," Chase said. "This is for them."