This week, Chase Rice makes his countdown co-hosting debut on Country Countdown USA Sunday night 7-10pm on 98.1 The Hawk!   He talks about his long friendship with Florida Georgia Line's Brian Kelley, sharing a house with them in Nashville, and co-writing their debut hit "Cruise."

Chase spent the summer opening shows on The Big Revival Tour with Kenny Chesney. He played "Cruise" in his set during every show except Nashville. Something happened that night that caused him to add it for the rest of the tour. He tells show host Lon Helton, "Taylor Swift is the reason I played Cruise on the Chesney tour.

While on the Big Revival Tour, Chase had a chance to meet Eric Church, and he told Lon their conversation was an inspiration: "His music was a huge influence on me, and the way he's built his career was a huge influence on me. I went to one of his shows when I was in high school, and what he was singing about was what I was living at the time. I got to talk to him during the tour, and it just made me think a lot. So now, having toured with Kenny and Eric, writing with Eric's guitar player, I've gone back to my core a lot. It has me fired up about new songs, really getting back to who I am as a person and a songwriter."

Chase also has great stories about Brett Eldredge, Sam Hunt, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, and Cole Swindell.

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