Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters
SUMMARY:
Our guest is Grammy winner Kristian Bush, best known as one half of the country duo Sugarland. He chats about a career that has earned him six BMI awards, five ACM awards, and five CMA Vocal Duo of the Year honors, as well as about his ambitious new solo project, which will include four albums in one year that will present a total of 52 songs.
PART ONE:
Paul and Scott talk celebrity softball tournaments, John Schneider, waterbeds, and Walter Payton. And it's even weirder than it sounds.
PART TWO:
Our in-depth conversation with Kristian Bush
ABOUT KRISTIAN BUSH:
Kristian Bush is best known as one half of the platinum-selling country duo Sugarland. The Sevierville, Tennessee native spent his formative years making music with his brother Brandon, who would go on to play keyboards in the rock brand Train. Kristian launched his professional music career from Atlanta in 1994 with the folk-rock duo Billy Pilgrim, which released two albums for Atlantic Records. Within the decade, he moved on to form Sugarland with Kristen Hall and Jennifer Nettles, and the group’s debut single “Baby Girl” became a massive hit. Their debut album, Twice the Speed of Life, which was produced by Garth Fundis, was certified triple platinum. With the departure of Kristen Hall, Sugarland became a duo that went on to rack up five #1 hit singles, including “All I Want to Do” and the Grammy-winning “Stay.” Additional hits followed, including the double platinum “Stuck Like Glue” and “Babe,” a collaboration with Taylor Swift. Sugarland has sold over 22 million albums worldwide and was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Kristian has earned six BMI awards and is a four-time Grammy nominee. In addition to five ACM awards, Sugarland has won the CMA’s Vocal Duo of the Year honor five times. Kristian’s most recent solo project is called 52, a series of four albums comprised of a total of 52 songs. The first installment, called ATL x BNA is available now.