Chris Young will fulfill a childhood dream on Tuesday night (Oct. 17), when he becomes the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry. The singer was invited to join the prestigious organization in late August, by his musical hero and "Sober Saturday Night" duet partner, Vince Gill.

"I’m so excited. I’m going to do a lot of special stuff that night," Young tells The Boot. "I was so glad that Vince was the one that asked me, because that was my first concert I remember going to at [Nashville's] Starwood Amphitheater, when it existed. My mom won tickets on the radio, and we went and saw him play, and then, obviously, having a No. 1 [song] with him, circling all the way back to this, it’s a very, very cool thing."

When Gill surprised Young with the news of his Opry induction, Young was so stunned that he picked Gill up in the middle of the stage. The singer swears he had no idea the invitation was coming.

"I love, right after it happened, everyone was like, ‘So, did you know?’ And I’m like, ‘Did it look like I knew?’" Young recalls. "They actually got me really, really good. And I’m not somebody that likes to get surprised. But in that case, I was really excited about that."

The "Losing Sleep" singer, who already was a regular Opry performer, says some of his favorite memories involve what has happened on the famed stage.

"It’s cool because it’s the Opry, and what it represents -- just the history in it and the magic that it has for all of us," Young shared at a recent media event. "I’ve been lucky to meet a lot of people [at the Opry] and ask for photos more than once. I’ve been that guy."

Young can also recall, at Jean Shephard's request, performing an additional, unrehearsed song one night at the Opry: "Begging to You," by Marty Robbins. Because he wasn't overly familiar with the Grand Ole Opry's house band, he played the song acoustic.

"That was the one that was, honest to God, everybody in the room standing up," he remembers. "It was a cool moment, and something I’ll always remember."

Tickets to Young's induction are available at Opry.com.

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