ARTIST TO WATCH + Q&A: Logan Crosby

As runner-up on the first season of ABC’s “Claim to Fame” in 2022, Logan Crosby has since claimed his own fame through his passionate, sentimental country songs. Last year, he released his first EP “23 Days in LA” and has been working on new songs and supporting Megan Moroney on tour ever since. Earlier this month, Logan dropped the single “2019”, and his newest track “You're Still” comes out today (May 31)! We recently got to know Logan and chatted with him about “You’re Still”, his upcoming debut album and tour, and more! Check out the full interview below:

YH: Your family has clearly had a big influence on your love for music. Your aunt got you your first real guitar and a keyboard you still use to write songs on. Also, Jason Aldean is your cousin! Can you talk to us about your exposure to music growing up and how you ended up pursuing it?

LC: Yeah, we were a pretty musical family! I was born in 2000. Jason started having radio hits in 2005, so growing up, I always saw him on TV on award shows. It was awesome getting to see that. I also grew up going to a small Baptist church, so you kind of had to sing. My aunt played piano at church, so she’s the one who taught me how to play instruments. Then, when I was in high school, I played in different bands around town. The city I’m from, Milledgeville, has a couple different bars and clubs with live music, and people like Luke Bryan have played there. Macon, Georgia, is 45 minutes from where I grew up, and Otis Redding is from there, the Allman Brothers, Little Richard. So there were all kinds of cool musical influences around me all the time...and as I got into high school, all I did was play music and sing. 

YH: In addition to Jason, who are some of your biggest musical influences and what songs by other artists inspire you most? 

LC: I remember being in third or fourth grade and seeing an iPod. I could buy an iTunes card and listen to any song in the entire world. That was cool because I got to listen to all different types of music and learn what I liked and didn’t like. Luke Combs is a big one. Adele, I listen to all of her records. She’s never done a collab with anyone, but I feel like, if I met her, we could become best friends and she’d put me on a track. I’m going to manifest that! I also really like Chris Stapleton. And now that Dua Lipa and Chris Stapleton did a duet...at the ACMs I’ve been listening to some Dua Lipa. I kind of listen to everything, to be honest. As long as it's cool, I’m down with it.

YH: Tell us about your experience on “Claim to Fame”. Was it everything you expected it to be? In what ways did being on the show surprise you?

LC: Growing up, I always wanted to be on TV and be in front of a camera. I was very surprised at how natural it was — once you get past the fact that there are cameras in every corner of the room! On “Claim to Fame”, we got the clues and formed alliances, and there were never producers coming in and telling us what to say. But I think the biggest surprise was how well the show did. It was a first season show at the time, and it was one of the biggest shows on Hulu that summer! So, it was great to see how well the whole thing was received.

YH: Can you see yourself doing other on-screen projects in the future?

LC: Yes! I want to be in a movie so badly. I would love to go back on TV, but I don’t know if I would do a reality show again. The only one I think I would do is “Traitors”. I’m obsessed with it and can’t turn it off! It’s hilarious. Outside of that, I wouldn’t want to be a contestant, but I’d love to host something — like an awards show. 

YH: Your latest single, “2019” just came out earlier this month. That was the year you left your hometown to go to college. Can you tell us more about how 2019 was an influential and nostalgic time in your life and how you capture that through this song?

LC: That was the year I started playing music for people who weren’t my friends and family. I took a guitar and piano with me and would play songs. That was the year I wrote my first song. It wasn’t great, but it was a song! Whenever we’d hang out in the dorms, people would say, “Oh he’s got a guitar! Play these songs!”. 

YH: How did your college experience inform your experience in the music industry?

LC: I was a political science major and I wanted to be a lawyer. But I couldn’t have been a lawyer…I figured that out when I went to take the practice LSAT! But the thing about music is that there’s always contracts and a legal way to think about different things, so I still have that little part of my brain that I kick into gear every once in a while. 

YH: Your new song “You’re Still” drops today. Tell us about it! 

LC: It’s super nostalgic. Probably the most nostalgic song I’ve released to date. It was written by Jonathan Singleton, Randy Montana, and Mark Holman. As soon as I heard the chorus, I could see it all so clearly, and I knew exactly what girl this song was about for me. I thought, “If it hits me like that, I know fans are going to feel the same way.” My favorite part is the second verse: “Is it just heartbroken wishful thinking that you just can’t help thinking about me when you see a spray painted heart on a bridge or water tower, or a lonesome highway flower, just waiting on two kids like us.” It paints such a cool picture of these two kids that are so in love but, for whatever reason, it doesn’t work out. And as sad as that is, it’s so happy because you think about all the great times. There are people that I’ve been in relationships with that haven’t worked out, but I still really think the world of that person. That’s what the song means to me and hopefully to everyone else. It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever heard, period. I would be so happy if this was the song that people thought of when they think of me.

YH: Can you tell us more about the vibe of your upcoming album?

LC: People know me from “Claim to Fame” and from TikTok. With this album, I wanted people to get a glimpse of the real me when you take all of that away. We’ve been able to do that really well on this record. 

YH: You’ve been supporting Megan Moroney on tour for a bit. What have been some of your favorite tour moments and stories?

LC: I love going out before the show and talking to people. There was a family at one of the shows…I asked the mom if she knew who was opening for Megan Moroney and she said no. I was like, “Cool, I don’t either.” The whole family came up after the show and said they became huge fans. They got shirts, and the dad asked me to sign his hat. The woman said she really wanted to apologize, but that’s the point of being an opener! For people to discover you! 

YH: You have a lot of shows coming up this summer, including performances at CMA Fest. Anything we should know about them?

LC: I didn’t get to play my CMA show last year because it got rained out. So I can’t wait to play there this year. Super excited about continuing the tour with Megan and also playing Calgary Stampede in July with the Jonas Brothers. And my own tour is coming up in September! 

YH: Before we say goodbye, can you please fill us in on the story behind your signature catch phrase, “tell your mama I love her, bye”? 

LC: It was an accident!  I know that I have social media and it probably looks like I know what I’m doing, but I have no idea what’s going on. In college, I used to take my phone, prop it up on my windowsill, then start a video and play covers. It would be a minute-long video, and I didn’t know I could stop it early. One time, I got done singing the chorus of a song in like 55 seconds, and I didn’t know what to say so I just said, “Uh, tell your mama I love her, bye!” That video kind of went viral. I started saying that at the end of every video and when I was leaving the stage after playing shows. It’s on T-shirts and hats now, which is super funny. I didn’t sit down one night and think about how to brand myself. It just happened. 

If you need us, we’ll be listening to Logan’s new song “You’re Still”! Otherwise, as Logan would say, tell your mama I love her, bye!