Chris Stapleton Only Hoped to Sell 50,000 Records With 'Traveller'

Chris Stapleton's entire life and career changed with the release of Traveller, his 2015 album that earned him a CMA Award, an ACM Award, two GRAMMYs and his first No. 1, multi-platinum-selling record, kicking off his career as one of the most successful, and most respected, artists of this generation, of any genre.

The singer-songwriter says his success, after so many years in the business, was an unexpected surprise.

"My goal with making Traveller, I hoped to possibly sell 50,000 records," Stapleton says. "I was gonna make this record and I was going to go out and play music, because that's what I knew how to do and that's what [my record label] Universal allowed me to do. Obviously, we did a little better than that."

Stapleton's winning streak continued with his two recent releases, From a Room: Volume 1, which also earned a GRAMMY, and his recent From a Room: Volume 2. While most artists might have bowed to the pressure of so much success, the back-to-back EPs became Stapleton's way to remind himself of why he chose music as a career in the first place.

"This time around I tried to reset – to a degree – and go, 'But let's put this into perspective here,'" the Kentucky native says. "None of this was expected stuff. What were you trying to do? What are we trying to do? We're trying to make music that we like and make a record that we like. So, very much I would love to be able to sell enough records that I can still go play shows and keep making records. That's the goal. That's the dream, whether it's 20,000 records or 50,000 records or getting to play a room for 300 people or 20,000 people. That's the dream still. I'm still making a living playing music. So, no, I didn't feel any pressure from it whatsoever, because all that came from just making music for the sake of making music."

To date, Stapleton has won five GRAMMYs, seven CMA Awards and four ACMs. He will kick off his All-American Road Show later this year, with Brent Cobb and Marty Stuart serving as his opening acts. Find a list of all of his upcoming concerts on his website.

Photo Credit: Facebook/Chris Stapleton