Granite Falls' Eric Church up for Grammy

Granite Falls' Eric Church up for Grammy
By: Richard Gould
February 10, 2012

GRANITE FALLS --Granite Falls native and country music star Eric Church will find out on Sunday night if he’s won his first Grammy award.

Church’s album “Chief,” which debuted at No. 1 in the Billboard 200 and Billboard’s country charts, was nominated for Best Country Album.

He’s up against four-time winners Lady Antebellum and Taylor Swift, past winner and country legend George Strait, Jason Aldean and Blake Shelton. People magazine and the Los Angeles Times have predicted that Church will take home this year’s award.

His parents will be making the trek to the Staples Center in Los Angeles to cheer him on.

“In one short year his career has catapulted in a way that we didn’t expect to happen this quickly,” said Eric Church’s father, Ken. “The family is just elated – we’re pinching ourselves just a little bit.”

Church is taking the time to appreciate the accolades that have accompanied his latest album and tour.

“The Grammys are the Holy Grail, I mean every recording artist – if they’re going to win anything – they want to win a Grammy,” Church said in a video interview on Grammy.com. “For me to have your peers and the people in the industry who ‘know’ what great music is to – for them to give us a nomination is a dream come true for me.”

While the record industry may be focusing on singles over albums due to the digital download market, Church has long focused on making albums that come together as a whole. Church said he’s proud that “Chief” was nominated in the album category.

When discussing the album, Church said it came as a result of a no-holds-barred approach and calls it his most fearless record to date. He said he made the record without being afraid that his label or the public wouldn’t like it.

“My producer and I decided that, consequences be dammed, we were going to make a record that was as close to the wall as we could get it and really try to stoke that creative flame,” Church said. “I think we accomplished it. It’s my most favorite record that we’ve done and I’m proud.”

Church’s hit song, “Drink in my hand,” went to No. 1 on the charts and its one of the 22 songs included on the commemorative 2012 Grammy Nominees album.

“Drink in my hand was a song that was written after watching the audience one night,” Church said in a video interview. “The cool thing now is to look out there and have them [the audience] actually singing the song with cups in the air – beers in the air. That was the actual inspiration, so to come 360 like that – to come full circle – it’s been neat for the last year to be involved in that process. To write it and now have them singing it to me. It’s a neat thing for a recording artist.”

Church has also been nominated for a pair of Academy of Country Music awards.

“Chief” was nominated for album of the year and “Homeboy” got the nod in the video of the year category. The awards will be presented at a televised ceremony at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on April 1 at 8 p.m.

Ken Church said his son is taking his success in stride.

“He’s still Eric – he’s a new father and he’s loving that,” Church said.