Kane Brown Wrote ‘For My Daughter’ Because His Own Dad Wasn’t Present
Country music can often be a singer’s ticket to becoming a beloved performer. But as so many country music legends have proven, it also opens doors to a lot more opportunities. For Kane Brown, his country career has led him to experiment with different types of music. It also gave the 28-year-old the chance to pen a song about being a father — a tune inspired by his own dad.
Kane Brown and his wife, Katelyn Jae, have 2 daughters
In 2016, Kane Brown released his self-titled debut album, which features hit singles like “What Ifs” and “Heaven” to critical acclaim. Just before the release of his sophomore effort, 2018’s Experiment, Brown married girlfriend Katelyn Jae. In 2019, the couple announced they were expecting a daughter. That year, Brown released a track dedicated to his unborn child.
“For My Daughter” was one of three new songs — including “Like a Rodeo” and “Lose in the Middle of Nowhere” with Becky G — included in 2019’s Experiment Extended. In the song, Brown shares his ambition to be the best possible father to his daughter. As it turns out, the track was personal for the singer, touching on the complicated relationship with his own father.
How Kane Brown’s father inspired ‘For My Daughter’
On a recent episode of Southern Living’s Biscuits and Jam podcast, Brown opened up about his life and career. At one point, the conversation turned to his relationships with his father and his own children.
“Well I wrote [“For My Daughter”] before my first daughter, Kingsley, was born … I was just thinking it wasn’t her choice to be born. So I need to be there. I never had that, that father figure to look up to other than my granddad. And he always made me feel real special. He always took me to my baseball games. And so I just know that whatever she wants to do, I want to support and help her be the best she can be. And just give her a life that I never had.”
Brown also confirmed his own father, who left when he was three years old, hasn’t really been in his life much. Podcast host Sid Evans later joked the singer might need to rename his song “For My Daughters” after the birth of his second daughter in 2021. “That’s the only thing about writing songs,” Brown said. “Stuff changes.”
Kane Brown’s third album, ‘Different Man,’ releases in the fall of 2022
Changes need to be a major theme in Brown’s life lately. After all, his third album is titled Different Man, and it takes his music even further into genre-blending territory. Whereas Experiment split the difference between country music and R&B, Brown’s latest single “Grand” appears to be firmly in the latter category.
That doesn’t mean Brown is leaving country music behind. Far from the contrary, he professes his love for the genre in “Like I Love Country Music,” another single from Different Man. “Baby, I love you like I love country music,” he sings as he name-checks iconic performers like Alan Jackson, Willie Nelson, George Jones, Johnny Cash, June Carter, and Brooks & Dunn.
Different Man will release on September 9, 2022.
