‘American Idol’ Finalist Colin Stough Opens Up About Forging A Friendship With Chase Matthew
The singer/songwriters bonded over their similar upbringing and teased a potential collaboration.
Colin Stough, Chase Matthew; Photo Courtesy Chase Matthew, Instagram
Since wrapping up his time on American Idol, Colin Stough has continued to develop a loyal fanbase among listeners as well as a few fellow country artists like Chase Matthew.
Lately, he and Matthew have been seen posting on social media together and building a foundation for their friendship through summertime bonfires and late-night bike rides.
“You can take the boys outta the country but you can’t take the country outta the boys🤘♠️” Stough wrote in the caption of his recent Instagram post.
While catching up with Country Now, Stough explained that he may not be a Nashville resident just yet, but he’s been spending a lot of his time around Music City, which also happens to be Matthew’s hometown.
“I’m pretty much based in Nashville. I haven’t bought a house or nothing like that, but I’ve been staying in Airbnb’s and looking at houses,” he said before adding. “I wrote a lot before the show and when I was on the show and then now after the show. What I do every day is cut music, write music, and take meetings and stuff like that. It’s a new kind of full-time job.”
Stough also shared that being in Nashville has also allowed his friendship with the “Come Get Your Memory” singer to grow. He even teased that they could potentially end up collaborating in the studio one day.
“You know, me and Chase, we’re boys. We hang out a lot during the week whenever he is home, whenever I’m here, and we just got a lot of similarities. So I’m sure if we wanted to write a song, it wouldn’t be hard to come up with something,” Stough stated.
He went on to explain these rising singer/songwriters initially met through mutual connections in the industry and “hit it off” almost instantly.
“So it was kind of funny,” Stough began. “My manager is really good friends with his manager and he had hit me up on Instagram and was like, ‘Hey man, when you get into town, let’s go ride motorcycles or something.’ I’m like, sure, alright. So that’s what we did. And we just hit it off.”
Matthew also revealed to Country Now that he followed Stough’s journey on Season 21 of American Idol and felt great pride watching another young country singer begin his musical journey.
“I thought it was really cool to see a good old country boy, a young guy too. And, you know, it’s kind of hard to find genuine country folk,” Matthew shared as he boasted about Stough. “There’s not a lot of people that are really about it and you could tell as soon as you met that guy, or even seeing that guy on tv, he is just country as grits and biscuits. But we’ve connected through Instagram, and we’ve been kicking it here and there, and he’s just a really good guy. He’s got a lot of awesome things coming,” he continued.
Since his time on the show, Stough released his debut single, “I Still Talk To Jesus,” followed by his song “Bad Day.” According to Stough, there’s hope that these tracks will soon lead to a bigger project.
“Maybe an EP or a small album or something like that. Can’t give all the secrets away,” he teased with a laugh.
In terms of his upcoming shows, Colin Stough has yet to solidify plans for a tour. However, when the time does come for him to embark on his own run of shows, he intends to bring his most authentic self to the stage and “just go up there and be me.”
“I’m kind of a dying breed,” he admitted. “I like the southern rock and the classic country music and just being another guy in the world that’s just trying to bring that back to life.”
Throughout the summer, he will take the stage of a variety of individual shows as well as serve as an opening act on Drake White’s upcoming concert in Phenix City, AL on Friday, July 28.
Then, on August 10, he will return to Mississippi to play his first hometown show since coming off Idol.
The following days will include performances in Birmingham, AL, and Hattiesburg, MS.
Madeleine O’Connell graduated from North Central College with a bachelors degree in Journalism and Broadcast Communications before deciding to pursue her studies further at DePaul University. There, she earned her masters degree in Digital Communication & Media Arts. O’Connell served as a freelance writer for over two years while also interning with the Academy of Country Music, SiriusXM and Circle Media and assisting with Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly podcast. In addition to Country Now, she has been published in American Songwriter, Music Mayhem, and Holler.Country. Madeleine O’Connell is a member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
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