‘Catch of the Day’ – Chase Rice – “Whisper” [AUDIO]

Today's feature focuses on a singer and songwriter who first got Nashville's attention by co-writing a song that hit #1, and stayed there...for 24 weeks. A song that not only crossed over to hit the top-20 on the Billboard Hot-100 chart, but did so TWICE.

To say the debut single from Florida-Georgia Line was a hit would be a gross understatement. The single has sold more than 7 million digital copies and occupied the #1 spot on the Billboard Country chart for nearly half a year in 2013 and 2014. When FGL members Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard got together with co-writer Chase Rice, none of them had a clue that the song they wrote would become historic.

Music wasn't always the focus of Chase Rice's life. Growing up in Asheville, NC, sports was the focus of his attention, and Rice became a top-tier linebacker on AC Reynolds High School's football team. Rice caught the attention of recruiters for nearby North Carolina State's football program, and he went on to Chappell Hill play for UNC's Rams. After graduation, NASCAR caught Rice's eye and he got a job working for Hendricks Motorsports, first as the rear tire carrier for Ryan Newman's Nationwide Series pit crew. From there he moved up to join Jimmy Johnson's Lowe's #48 pit crew.

While working for Hendricks Motorsports, Rice was selected to be a contestant on Survivor: Nicaragua, where he was originally a member of the "LaFlor" tribe. He performed exceptionally well in post-merge challenges, being on the winning team in 2 of the 3 team-oriented rewards, and winning the last two individual rewards. Rice "survived" the entirety of the contest, losing in a very close 5-4 final vote to Jud "Fabio" Birza.

"...boy anyone can play guitar, but no one is gonna really listen to you until you start singing."

Rice came to music a little later than most successful performers, as he didn't begin playing guitar until college. He cites his father as the inspiration for his career, recalling his father saying "boy anyone can play guitar, but no one is gonna really listen to you until you start singing." He models his albums after his live show and is building his career through the performance aspect. His first studio album, Friday Nights & Sunday Mornings, was released in April of 2010. The 13 track album includes the first song he ever wrote and the first he recorded, “Larger Than Life”, a song Rice wrote after the passing of his father.

In March 2011, Rice released the 6-track EP Country as Me, which featured the single "Buzz Back". Several tracks received airplay on satellite radio, and the single broke the top-30 nationally. He followed the success with the album Dirt Road Communion, which debuted at #48 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, and for its debut week, finished #6 on the iTunes downloads chart. October of 2013 saw the release of the EP Ready Set Roll. The title track climbed to #5 on the Billboard Country chart, becoming Rice's first top-10 hit. It and "Gonna Wanna Tonight", which climbed to #2 on the chart, were featured on Rice's next album, Ignite The Night, which was released in August of 2014. The album not only hit #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, but also topped Billboard's Indy Albums Chart.

With the success of his last two singles, Rice has gone back into the studio to begin work on his next project, as yet unnamed. The debut single from this project is in our spotlight today. Chase Rice and "Whisper" is today's Catch of the Day, new music you haven't heard, but you'll want to hear it again.