Kane Brown Was ‘Inspired’ By ‘American Idol’s’ Lauren Alaina: ‘She Got Me My Own Solo’
Kane Brown is one of the biggest names in country music today, from selling millions of records, to picking up awards for his music. However, did you know Brown has a childhood connection to another country star?
Kane Brown’s road to stardom
Brown rose to fame in 2014 after posting covers online. Through crowdfunding, the singer raised enough money to record an EP, Closer. He continued to release music independently and even got an opening gig for Florida Georgia Line.
In 2016, he signed with Sony Music Nashville and released his debut album, Kane Brown, that same year. Brown has found tons of success in the country music industry, scoring CMT, AMA, and ACM awards.
The singer was raised in Georgia and Tennessee by a single mom. The pair finally settled in Red Bank, Tennessee, where the future country star attended Lakeview Fort Oglethorpe High School.
How do Kane Brown and Lauren Alaina know each other?
One of his classmates was a girl named Lauren Alaina. She and Brown were in the choir together, and he credits her with jumpstarting his passion for singing.
“I was always the quiet one in the room,” Brown said while appearing on Southern Living‘s “Biscuits and Jam” podcast. “And she could always sing, and she got me my own solo. I think I was singing ‘I Can Only Imagine.’ And she made everybody [leave] the class. She made me stay and made me sing for the teacher, and then went on to do her thing for American Idol. So she really inspired me and that’s what kinda got me into the talent shows and all that stuff.”
“Other than my momma, she was one of the first ones [I ever sang in front of],” Brown continued. “But she kinda forced me to. It was no, uh, no question about it.”
Alaina’s performance on American Idol even inspired Brown to try out for American Idol and The X-Factor, but he didn’t find success on the reality shows. The country star was turned away from American Idol after auditioning, and he quit The X-Factor after the judges tried to put him in a boyband.
Lauren Alaina and Kane Brown teamed up for ‘What Ifs’
Alaina went on to be the runner-up on the tenth season of American Idol in 2011. She wowed the judges and viewers with her performances of songs like “Unchained Melody,” “Any Man of Mine,” and “If I Die Young.”
Following her time on the singing competition show, Alaina signed with Interscope Records, releasing her debut album Wildflowers in 2011. She has had two songs go No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts — “Road Less Traveled” and “What Ifs,” which she recorded with Brown.
“We genuinely want each other to do well,” Alaina said on Audacy’s Leading Ladies about their duet. “[‘What Ifs’] was the perfect way for us to showcase what we can do. I love Kane, and it was a natural fit.” The pair have performed together multiple times, including in their hometown of Chattanooga.
“It made me want to cry, honestly,” Alaina said of the performance. “I just, when I think of him — I know he’s all muscular, and an adult, and a dad, and a grown man — but, in my mind, it’s kind of like your parents always see you as a little kid. You know, people you grow up with, that’s how you see them. I just have so many memories with him from early childhood.”
