9 Things to Know About Brett Young

Brett Young is celebrating his milestone 40th birthday on March 23, and he’ll soon reach another milestone when he becomes a father of two, as he and wife Taylor are currently preparing to welcome their second child.

Since bursting onto the country music scene in 2016 with his first single, “Sleep Without You,” Young has earned five consecutive No. 1 hits, released two albums — 2017’s eponymous debut and 2018’s Ticket to L.A. — and traveled the world performing, earning thousands of fans with his heartfelt lyrics, recognizable voice and sunny disposition. Young married Taylor in November 2018 and the couple welcomed daughter Presley in October 2019. Read on to learn more about the California-bred star.

His father is a minister

Young grew up religious, and his first singing gig was actually performing as a worship leader. He was asked to perform in high school, and did so before leading the service by himself the next week.

“All the kids would get a guitar at some point and learn to play worship songs. Music was something I never really thought of as a career,” he said in a CMA Insider video. “I always say if you wanna make God laugh, tell him your plans.”

He originally planned on being a professional baseball player

Like several other country stars, Young originally started out as a baseball player, taking a full athletic scholarship to Ole Miss and then playing at Fresno State University after being called by two professional teams after high school. He ultimately went to college to improve his draft stock before suffering a career-ending elbow injury.

“Baseball was the biggest part of me, and it took, you know, a career-ending elbow injury in college for me to have to kind of put life back in focus and figure out what it was that was going to make me happy,” he told WBUR 90.9. “And, it was when I hurt myself, there’s a large amount of depression that goes along with, you know, a career-ending injury like that when you think it’s going to be your whole life, and music just at the very beginning of it all became kind of an outlet for that.” 

His cure for insomnia is whiskey

According to Country Fancast, Young’s go-to activity when he can’t sleep is drinking a glass of Jack Daniel’s. He also watches television, listens to music and does his best to resist hitting the kitchen for a late-night snack.

He and his wife dated for six years before breaking up

Young married Taylor Mills in November 2018, but the pair initially had a bumpy road to the alter, dating for six years before breaking up when Young moved to Nashville. Mills inspired much of Young’s debut album, and when she heard him on the radio for the first time, she was so emotional that she had to pull the car over.

The singer later reached out to his now-wife via text and they reconnected, with Young proposing in February 2018. They’ve now been together on and off for ten years. “All the good stuff was still there, but all the bad stuff that was born out of immaturity was gone,” Young told PEOPLE of their second shot at love. “It was just really easy and obvious.”

He likes to eat healthy

The 39-year-old is a noted fitness fan, doing what he can to stay in shape and eat healthy amidst his busy schedule. Still, he’s sure to allow himself some cheat meals, telling 94.9 The Bull that if could have any cheat meal, “it would be pizza.” He also likes to try the foods made famous in the cities he visits, including In and Out burger in Los Angeles and deep dish pizza in Chicago.

He watches Christmas movies year-round

While most people only watch holiday-centric films during one season of the year, Young watches his favorite Christmas movies all year long. “There’s a movie, A Christmas Story, and that’s been my family’s thing,” he told WKML 95.7. “TBS does the marathon every year and we watch it until they stop playing it. And then a new one snuck in [over] the last couple of years that I’m obsessed with, and I watch year-round pretty much. And that’s Elf…I don’t need to wait for December for [either of those movies].”

As for his favorite holiday dessert, the California native prefers one specific flavor in his sweets during the season. “Anything kind of like ‘nutmeg-y,’” he shared. “I’m not a big baker, but like every once in a while. I’ll be, ‘All right I’ve got to make some sort of holiday dessert to make the house smell like that.’ So I usually get myself into trouble.”

He hated his first tattoo

Young now has a number of tattoos, including an in-progress sleeve on his left arm and the quote “If it feels like home follow its path” on his right, but he disliked his first piece of ink so much, he eventually got it covered up.

“My very first tattoo was a crown of thorns around my upper left arm that I have since gotten covered up because I got it right before Pamela Anderson came out with Barb Wire,” he told KIX 92.1. “That’s pretty fun my senior year in baseball being called Pam.”

“I didn’t feel addicted, like I didn’t have that experience,” he added of his initial go under the needle. “I do have that experience now. I didn’t initially. I was young, I always wanted one, I got it. I felt like I checked that box. It wasn’t until five years down the road when I got one on my ribs, I was in Singapore and I got my last name underneath my heart and I remember it like it almost felt good. And I went, ‘Oh that’s weird.’ And ever since then, now, like actually, the process of getting tattooed is something I enjoy.”

He has watched every episode of ‘Dawson’s Creek’

“It might be a little embarrassing, but I never ever missed an episode of Dawson’s Creek growing up,” Young told PEOPLE. “I would have the VHS record it because I would have a basketball practice — never missed one.”

In fact, it was while watching that show and, later, One Tree Hill, that Young discovered one of his musical idols, Gavin DeGraw, who recorded One Tree Hill‘s theme song. Years later, Young would go on to collaborate with DeGraw for his second album.

He’s never mastered surfing

Though he hails from southern California, Young never quite got the hang of the beach-friendly sport. “I surfed until I was 18, and being the athlete that I am I got really frustrated with how I wasn’t really getting any better,” he said. The star still surfs today for fun, sharing, “I’m still obsessed with the beach whenever I’m home; when I’m on the beach it feels like home to me.”