Chris Janson will be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday, March 20, fulfilling a dream Janson has held since childhood. The “Drunk Girl” singer was invited to join by fellow Opry member Keith Urban in February, but quickly realized his invitation was something to be celebrated by several other artists as well.
“To put in perspective of how big a deal it is to me, and to other artists, the first phone call I got the next morning at 8:00 was Luke Bryan,” Janson tells Sounds Like Nashville. “He was home with his kids, doing the dad thing, and called and said, ‘Buddy, do you know how big that is?’ And I said, ‘Yes I do. I totally get it.’ That says a lot for not only Luke, but it says a lot for the Grand Ole Opry. It means a lot. Second call was Dustin Lynch, third call Craig Morgan, fourth call, John Conlee. I mean, I will never forget those type of things. Opry members and non-Opry members alike have been very awesome about it. It’s definitely a gigantic career highlight.”
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Janson moved to Nashville with little more than a dream, living out of his car and pounding the pavement trying to get noticed for his talent. While he fantasized about one day being a member of the Opry, Janson still can’t believe his dream is becoming true.
“I think as a singer, you can envision yourself maybe having a No. 1 hit, or anything like that, but it’s hard to kind of fathom membership to the Opry,” admits Janson. “So you sort of put it in the back of your mind, at least I did. You kind of compartmentalize it and think, ‘If it ever happens, that’s awesome, it probably won’t.’ It’s a pretty esteemed group of people, and it’s a small group of really big names.”
Janson won’t have much time to celebrate his recent success. He is currently serving as the opening act on Cole Swindell’s Reason to Drink Tour. A list of all of Janson’s upcoming shows can be found on his website.
Photo Credit: Instagram/TheChrisJanson
