Brett Young is known as a lot of things: a country star, the ACM New Male Vocalist of the Year and a newlywed. But there's one more title Young will be publicizing in the new year: the proud owner of an adorable Chihuahua named Oscar.
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While Young's Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix is already Instagram famous, he'll enjoy even more fame when he appears alongside his mom and dad on the American Kennel Club National Championship Dog Show Presented by Royal Canin, which airs on Animal Planet on Jan. 1 at 6 p.m. CT. The show pairs celebrities with their respective dog groups to root on each competing breed.
The 6-foot-6 Young, who says he's always been "obsessed with dogs," says the show allows him to represent fellow big dudes with tiny dog companions.
"It was probably hard to find a big dude who has a tiny little dog like this and I think that's probably why Royal Canin came to me. It's a show that I've watched and been a fan of, so when Royal Canin came to me and wanted me to be involved and represent Team Toy, I not only got excited about being involved in general but I saw the humor in further publicizing me and my tiny little Chihuahua," Young says, laughing.
Young and his now wife Taylor Mills got Oscar over seven years ago from a woman at a gas station in Los Angeles and were thankfully able to give him a much safer (and happier) home life.
"I had, thank God, enough cash to take him home and not let him sit in this heat in a car," Young says. "He's been our little buddy ever since."
Young says Oscar is not only a great companion at home, but he's also a great tour bus buddy.
"We've got the band and crew on one bus and then me and Taylor are on another and that's Oscar's bus," Young says. "He's decided that he's the boss on that bus. He loves the road and he's seen a ton of the country and because we have a New Year's Eve show we're probably going to be on the bus New Year's Day watching the National Championship together."
Oscar and I are counting down the days until we watch a lucky member of #TeamDog take the national championship crown! Are you tuning in to watch the AKC National Championship Dog Show Presented by @RoyalCanin on @AnimalPlanet on January 1st at 6pm ET/PT? #partner pic.twitter.com/AJJvSd7lPu
— Brett Young (@BrettYoungMusic) December 28, 2018
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Young released his sophomore album Ticket to L.A. on Dec. 7. The "Mercy" singer says seeing the album debut at No. 1 on Billboard's top country albums chart was a fulfilling moment.
"Every song and every bit of the record is passion project to me so to have the whole project be that successful is really, really cool," Young says.
The album also features a collaboration with Young's musical idol Gavin DeGraw -- a bucket list moment for Young.
"He's the reason that I wanted to get into songwriting. Aside from that, I've just been such a big fan of his as an artist and a songwriter as well. We've known each other for a long time now but I've never wanted to mix business with pleasure, so to speak. I never wanted to make him question if the friendship was all kind of a ruse to work together, because it wasn't. It felt like the right time when the record label had been asking for me to write a song about something other that heartbreak or love," Young says. "I love Gavin's writing so much that it just felt like the right timing to take that song concept to him for our first collaboration together. I never would have known that it would turn into a possibility for him to sing on one of my records as well. It was two really big bucket list checkmarks all at once."
Next year, Young will join Kelsea Ballerini on her Miss Me More Tour, which kicks off on April 11 in Maryland. Young says the tour is a great chance to reunite with his tour partner and friend and introduce audiences to new music.
"(Ballerini) and I became fast friends and we're both fans of each other. That was a no-brainer to take on this tour," Young says. "It's gonna be really fun to have this new record and new songs and a little bit more tempo and energy for these arenas. It's just kind of another step in the right direction. I think every song and every tour is another opportunity to reveal more of yourself to your fans. This is another really good opportunity for them to see a little bit more."
For a full list of Brett Young's upcoming tour dates, visit here.
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