Chad Brownlee (born July 12, 1984) is a Canadian country music artist, songwriter, actor, and former ice hockey defenceman. He has one #1 Canada Country hit with "Forever's Gotta Start Somewhere".
Sports career
Brownlee was a draft pick for the Vancouver Canucks in 2003, going in the sixth round No. 190th overall. After four years of playing for the NCAA's Minnesota State Mavericks (located in Mankato, Minn.), Brownlee made his professional debut with the ECHL's Idaho Steelheads playing a lone season with the club in the 2007–08 season before ending his playing career.
Music career Following a series of injuries, he turned his attention to music the following year. His first single, "The Best That I Can (Superhero)", was released in November 2009. Brownlee's self-titled debut album, produced by Mitch Merrett, was released in August 2010 via MDM Recordings. He followed it up with Love Me or Leave Me in 2012. Brownlee was nominated for a Juno Award for Country Album of the Year on February 19, 2013. The awards took place on April 21 in Regina, Saskatchewan. Brownlee's third album, The Fighters, was released on June 3, 2014.
Brownlee landed his first No. 1 hit with "Forever's Gotta Start Somewhere" in April 2019. It was included on the EP Back in the Game, which was released on June 21, 2019, via Universal Music Canada. Brownlee extended that to become his fourth album on January 10, 2020. A July 2020 Nielsen Music study found Brownlee to be the eighth-highest played Canadian artist on domestic radio in the first half of 2020, ahead of Brett Kissel and JP Saxe, and behind Dallas Smith and Drake.
In 2023, Brownlee ended a prolonged hiatus and released the single "The Country Kind".
Acting career Brownlee's first role as an actor came in 2010 film Tooth Fairy as an unnamed hockey player with no lines. He appeared in the 2021 film Range Roads as Bruce, the ex-boyfriend of the main character Frankie.
Discography Albums Title Details Chad Brownlee Release date: August 31, 2010 Label: MDM Recordings Love Me or Leave Me Release date: February 14, 2012 Label: MDM Recordings/EMI The Fighters Release date: June 3, 2014 Label: MDM Recordings/Universal Music Canada Back in the Game Release date: June 21, 2019 Label: Universal Music Canada Reason to Love Release date: TBA Label: Chad Brownlee Music Inc.
Extended plays Title Details Peakpositions CAN Hearts on Fire Release date: April 29, 2016 Label: MDM Recordings/Universal Music Canada 48
Singles Year Title Peak chartpositions Certifications Album CAN CAN Country Singles from 2009 to 2023: "Reason to Love": 2009 "The Best That I Can (Superhero)" — 20 Chad Brownlee 2010 "Hope" — 47 "Hood of My Car" 96 14 "Day After You" — 9 2011 "Carried Away" — 19 "Love Me or Leave Me" — 8 Love Me or Leave Me 2012 "Smoke in the Rain" 74 8 "Listen" 85 9 2013 "Crash" 91 10 "Where the Party At?" 100 13 The Fighters 2014 "Fallin' Over You" 66 10 "Just Because" 98 11 "When the Lights Go Down" 81 11 2015 "Thinking Out Loud" — 34 "Hearts on Fire" — 8 Hearts on Fire 2016 "I Hate You for It" — 8 MC: Gold "Somethin' We Shouldn't Do" — 7 MC: Gold 2017 "Might As Well Be Me" — 14 "Out of the Blue" — 17 2018 "Dear Drunk Me" 90 3 MC: Platinum Back in the Game 2019 "Forever's Gotta Start Somewhere" 89 1 MC: Platinum "The Way You Roll" — 3 MC: Gold 2020 "Money On You" 96 7 2023 "The Country Kind" — — align="left" rowspan="2" 2025 "Reason to Love" — 46 "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Other charted songs Year Single Peak chartpositions Album CAN Country 2012 "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" 37
Music videos Year Video Director 2010 "Hope" CMT "Day After You" Antonio Hrynchuk 2011 "Carried Away" "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" 2012 "Listen" Carolyne Stossel 2013 "Crash" "Where the Party At?" 2014 "Fallin' Over You" Carolyne Stossel "We Don't Walk This Road Alone" "Just Because" "When the Lights Go Down" Joey Boukadakis 2015 "Matches" Joel Stewart "Hearts on Fire" Stephano Barberis 2016 "I Hate You for It" "Somethin' We Shouldn't Do" 2017 "Might As Well Be Me" "Out of the Blue" 2018 "Dear Drunk Me" Ben Knechtel 2019 "Forever's Gotta Start Somewhere" "The Way You Roll"
Awards and nominations Year Association Category Result Ref2010British Columbia Country Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year Songwriter of the Year – "Hood of My Car" (with Mitch Merrett, Kelly Archer) Canadian Country Music Association Rising Star 2011British Columbia Country Music Association Album of the Year – Chad Brownlee Entertainer of the Year Fans Choice Award Male Vocalist of the Year Single of the Year – "The Day After You" Video of the Year – "Carried Away" Canadian Country Music Association Rising Star 2012 Male Artist of the Year Interactive Artist of the Year British Columbia Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year Album of the Year – Love Me or Leave Me Single of the Year – "Love Me or Leave Me" Fans Choice Award Male Vocalist of the Year Songwriter of the Year – "Love Me or Leave Me" (with Mitch Merrett, Ben Glover) Video of the Year – "Listen" 2013 Juno Awards of 2013 Country Album of the Year – Love Me or Leave Me Canadian Country Music Association Male Artist of the Year 2014British Columbia Country Music Association Album of the Year – The Fighters Entertainer of the Year Fans Choice Award Male Vocalist of the Year Single of the Year – "Fallin' Over You" Songwriter of the Year – "Just Because" (with Mitch Merrett, Brian White & Phil Barton) Video of the Year – "Fallin' Over You" Humanitarian of the Year 2015British Columbia Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year Fans Choice Award Male Vocalist of the Year Single of the Year – "When The Lights Go Down" Songwriter of the Year – "When The Lights Go Down" (with Mitch Merrett, Ben Glover) Songwriter of the Year – "Leave Your Lights On" (with Jeff Johnson & Phil Puxley) Video of the Year – "When The Lights Go Down" Humanitarian of the Year 2016Canadian Country Music Association Album of the Year – Hearts on Fire CMT Video of the Year – "Hearts on Fire" British Columbia Country Music Association Album of the Year – Hearts on Fire Male Vocalist of the Year Entertainer of the Year Fans Choice Award Single of the Year – "I Hate You For It" Songwriter of the Year 2017 Juno Awards Country Album of the Year – Hearts on Fire Canadian Country Music Association Fans' Choice Award Male Artist of the Year
Ice hockey career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2001–02 Vernon Vipers BCHL 55 6 12 18 62 — — — — — 2002–03 Vernon Vipers BCHL 58 8 16 24 63 — — — — — 2003–04 Minnesota State University, Mankato WCHA 35 2 1 3 44 — — — — — 2004–05 Minnesota State University, Mankato WCHA 36 1 1 2 60 — — — — — 2005–06 Minnesota State University, Mankato WCHA 29 1 1 2 47 — — — — — 2006–07 Minnesota State University, Mankato WCHA 34 0 4 4 50 — — — — — 2007–08 Idaho Steelheads ECHL 35 1 2 3 41 — — — — — WCHA totals 134 4 7 11 201 — — — — —
References
External links
Chad Brownlee at CMT