Chris Stapleton Tries To ‘Ignore’ Expectations

When Chris Stapleton is making music on one of his award-winning albums, he tries hard not to think about what his public will expect from the project. Chris told us…

Chris Stapleton poses on a red carpet in a cowboy hat and black blazer.
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When Chris Stapleton is making music on one of his award-winning albums, he tries hard not to think about what his public will expect from the project.

Chris told us in a recent interview, "I had someone ask me about, 'Do the expectations of either yourself or what you think the audience expectations are, do those things affect you?' And the answer is yes. I think it's perfectly human that you become aware of expectations as you go along. But I very much try to ignore them."

He continued, "Either my own or anybody else's of what something should be musically, because I'm not sure that that's a healthy space to be making music and not not in a good way anyway. You know, if you're thinking about previous sales or if you're thinking about, you know, awards or any of those kinds of things, if those are your goals in music, then I think maybe you're missing the point, or I feel like you're missing the point, or I would feel like I was missing the point."

Stapleton recently posted a video to his Insta Stories of him casually standing in a wine and liquor store in a denim jacket and ball cap, signing bottles of his new Traveller Whiskey brand.

As he signs random bottles on display, fans start to notice it's him and approach him. One lady comes up, has him sign her whiskey, and then snaps a quick picture with the multi-GRAMMY winner.

Another guy got his mother on Facetime on his phone before approaching Chris, saying, "My mom is a big fan, Chris Stapleton, mom." And Stapleton asks, "How's it going?" The woman on the phone says, "That's so funny," and Chris says, "I'm here with your son; how are you doing?" He then laughs and tells the lady that her son just snapped a photo of her face. The son thanks Chris and walks away.

Stapleton partnered with Buffalo Trace Distillery in his home state of Kentucky to make Traveller Whiskey.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.