Singer Kane Brown dedicated his song “Homesick” to members of the US military. Did he serve in the military himself?
Kane Brown has not been in the military. Brown did enquire about joining the US Army and completed a test as a part of the process of enlistment. However, the singer was told he would need to remove some tattoos, which he was not willing to do. He then worked as a FedEx employee before becoming a full-time musician.
Let’s take a more detailed look into the life and career of Kane Brown.
The Beginnings of Kane Brown
Kane Brown was born on October 21, 1993, in Tennessee, USA. Brown is mixed-race, with a white mother and an African-American and Native American father. His father was not present in most of his upbringing, since he has been in prison since 1996.
The singer told People magazine in 2018 that he was unaware he was mixed-race until he was around 7 or 8 years old. In the interview, he said:
“I thought I was full white. I found out that I was biracial, and I still wasn’t thinking anything of it, but then I started getting called the N-word. I learned what it meant, and that’s when it started affecting me. I got in fights over it when I was little.”
Kane Brown’s childhood was not the most privileged, with him and his mom sometimes being made homeless and moving around frequently. After graduating from high school, Kane lived with his grandmother, who had helped to raise him as a child.
Growing up in the south of the United States, Kane mostly listened to country music but got interested in R&B at some point in middle school.
When he was in the 11th grade, Kane won his school’s talent show after singing Chris Young’s “Gettin’ You Home.”
In 2013, with Kane aged 20, he auditioned for American Idol and The X Factor. He made it through to the next round of The X Factor but dropped out when producers asked him to form part of a boyband.
Kane then signed up for the US Army. He talked about his would-be career with People magazine, saying, “I ended up doing my test and I was about to get sent off. They told me I had to get my tattoos removed first. I was like, ‘Hell no!’ So then I ended up getting a job at FedEx.”
Making it in Music
Kane had been posting videos of himself covering songs of popular country singers such as Brantley Gilbert, Billy Currington, and Alan Jackson. His covers got him some attention on Facebook, and the singer began to acquire a following.
In 2015, Kane covered George Strait’s “Check Yes or No” which ended up going viral.
Watch the viral vid below.
The online attention led to Kane being signed to label Zone 4.
Releasing Music
Before being signed to Zone 4, Kane used the website Kickstarter to raise funds to produce and release his debut EP Closer. The EP was released in 2015 and achieved moderate success, debuting at number 22 on the Top Country Albums.
In 2015, Kane released the single “Used to Love You Sober” which was featured on the internet radio show Beats 1 by Zane Lowe. The track just missed out on the top spot on the Country Digital Songs chart, peaking at number 2.
Kane released several more singles in 2015 which also achieved notable success on the country charts.
In early 2016, Kane had his first major-label signing with Sony Music Nashville. He released the EP Chapter 1, in March of 2016. Chapter 1 debuted at number 9 on the mainstream chart and number 3 on the Top Country Albums chart.
Studio Albums
Kane released his debut studio album in 2016, which was self-titled. The album reached number 5 on the Billboard 200 chart as well as topping the chart on the US Country Albums chart.
The singer released his second album, Experiment, in November of 2018 which went on to reach number 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Since his phenomenal success, Brown has worked with many artists such as Camila Cabello, John Legend, Brooks & Dunn, Khalid, and Marshmello. Kane Brown continues to work on music and is set to release further projects in the future.