Paisley has sold over 11 million albums and has won three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 14 Country Music Association Awards, and two American Music Awards. He has also earned country music's crowning achievement, becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry.[2] Paisley also wrote songs for Pixar's Cars franchise ("Behind the Clouds", "Find Yourself", "Collision of Worlds" (along with Robbie Williams), "Nobody's Fool", etc.).
Paisley has stated that his love of country music stems from his maternal grandfather, who gave Paisley his first guitar at age 8 and taught him how to play. At age 12, Paisley wrote his first song, and by 13 he was the opening act for country singers.
Paisley graduated from John Marshall High School in Glen Dale and enrolled at Belmont University (from 1993 to 1995). While in college, he met Frank Rogers, a fellow student who went on to serve as his producer. Paisley also met Kelley Lovelace, who became his songwriting partner.
After graduating from Belmont, Paisley signed a songwriting contract with EMI Music Publishing. His debut as a singer was with the label Arista Nashville, with the song, "Who Needs Pictures" (released February 22, 1999). In May of that same year, he made his first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. Seven months later he had his first #1 hit with, ""He Didn't Have To Be."
In 2000, Paisley made an appearance on the nationally televised special, "Route 66: Main Street America" featured on TLC (TV channel) and later that same year he won the Country Music Association's (CMA) Horizon Award and the Academy of Country Music's best new male vocalist trophy. He received his first Grammy Award nomination a year later. On February 17, 2001, after forty appearances on the show, he was inducted into the Opry Hall of Fame.
In 2002, he won the CMA Music Video of the Year for ""I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)." Several celebrities made notable guest appearances in the video, inluding Little Jimmy Dickens, Kimberly Williams (Paisley), Dan Patrick, and Jerry Springer.
Paisley released his third album, Mud on the Tires (2003), following Who Needs Pictures and Part II. The album features the hit song "Celebrity," the video of which parodies reality shows such as Fear Factor and American Idol and included such celebrities as Jason Alexander, Little Jimmy Dickens, Trista Rehn, and William Shatner. The album's title track, "Mud on the Tires," reached Billboard #1 in 2004.
In 2005, after touring with Reba McEntire and Terri Clark on the critically acclaimed "Two Hats and a Redhead Tour," he released Time Well Wasted, containing 15 tracks, including "Alcohol", a duet ("When I Get Where I'm Going") with Dolly Parton, another ("Out in the Parking Lot") with Alan Jackson, and a bonus track, "Cornography".
Brad Paisley was the 2008 CMA and ACM Male Vocalist of the Year winner. Starting with the release of his 1999 album Who Needs Pictures, Paisley has recorded seven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashville label, with all of his albums certified gold or higher by the RIAA. In addition, he has charted 25 singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, 15 of which have reached #1 with a record 10 consecutive singles reaching the top spot on the charts. On November 10, 2010, Paisley won the coveted Entertainer of the Year award at the 44th annual CMA Awards.
In 2009 he released American Saturday Night which has his first single Then.
His song "High Life," on the 2014 album Moonshine in the Trunk, refers to suing Carrie Underwood after hearing that one of Carrie's songs "reminded me of a poem my brother wrote back in second grade." This was a subtle joke about an actual lawsuit from a songwriter who accused Brad of using her material. (In real life, the lawsuit was won by Paisley in 2016.)
Paisley released "Without a Fight", a duet with Demi Lovato, on May 13, 2016. It was to have served as the lead single to his eleventh studio album, but due to poor chart performance it did not make the album's final cut. He was selected as one of thirty artists to perform on "Forever Country", a mash-up track of "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "On the Road Again" and "I Will Always Love You" which celebrates 50 years of the CMA Awards. The second single "Today" was released on October 6, 2016, which gave Paisley his first Country Digital Song Sales #1, opening at the top of the chart with 41,000 first-week downloads. The single landed in the #1 spot on the Country Aircheck/Mediabase charts, marking Paisley's 24th #1 song. On November 11, Paisley announced on Twitter that the title of the album would be Love and War, which was released in April 2017.
Love and War features several collaborations with iconic artists, including Timbaland, John Fogerty, Bill Anderson, and Mick Jagger, as well as a songwriting credit with Johnny Cash.
On October 4, 2018, Paisley and his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley partnered with Belmont University and opened a free referral-based grocery store in Nashville to help the community in need. The Board of Trustees for The Store include Brad Paisley, President; Megan Zarling, Chair; Pete Fisher, Vice-Chair; Doug Paisley, Secretary and Elaine Bryan, Treasurer. Other board members include Sarah Cates, Jaynee Day, Hope Fisher, David Minnigan, John Zarling, Olivia Munn, John Schario, Scott Scovill, Michael Stagg, Becca Stevens and Kimberly Williams-Paisley. Executive Director is Gina Hancock.
In November 2018, Paisley released "Bucked Off", the lead single from his upcoming studio album. On March 11, 2019, Paisley released "My Miracle".
In 2021, Paisley released his own Bourbon brand called "America Highway Reserve." As this whiskey was aged in barrels in the "Rolling Rickhouse" semi-trailer that followed Paisley's 2019 concert tour, Paisley collaborated with Bardstown Bourbon Company to create this Bourbon.
Celebrity
Brad Paisley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
These days you don't really need it thanks to reality shows
Can't wait to date a supermodel, can't wait to sue my dad
Can't wait to wreck a Ferrari on my way to rehab
'Cause when you're a celebrity
It's adios reality
You can act just like a fool
Just 'cause you're on TV
I can throw a major fit
When my latte isn't just how I like it
When they say I've gone insane
I'll blame it on the fame
And the pressures that go with
Being a celebrity
I'll get to cry to Barbara Walters when things don't go my way
And I'll get community service no matter which law I break
I'll make the supermarket tabloids, they'll write some awful stuff
But the more they run my name down the more my price goes up
'Cause when you're a celebrity
It adios reality
No matter what you do
People think you're cool
Just 'cause you're on TV
I can fall in and out of love
Have marriages that barely last a month
When they go down the drain
I'll blame it on the fame
And say it's just so tough
Being a celebrity
So let's hitch up the wagons and head out west
To the land of the fun and the sun
We'll be real world bachelor jackass millionaires
Hey hey Hollywood here we come
'Cause when you're a celebrity
It adios reality
No matter what you do
People think you're cool
Just 'cause you're on TV
Brad Paisley's "Celebrity" is a satirical take on the concept of fame and its impact on people. The song is a commentary on the ridiculousness of fame, where people don't need talent to become famous, and how the mentality that comes with fame can make people behave in absurd ways. In the first part of the song, Paisley sings about how anyone can become famous these days, with reality shows becoming the gateway to celebrity status. He sings sarcastically about his hopes and dreams, like dating a supermodel, suing his dad, and crashing a Ferrari. But the chorus is where the tone of the song changes, highlighting the main point of the song - when you're a celebrity, you can act like a fool, and people will still think you're cool just because you're on TV.
The second verse takes a darker turn, touching on the destructive and often tragic side of fame. Paisley sings about how celebrities can get away with breaking the law or behaving badly by simply getting community service. He mentions the tabloids and how they will always find something negative to say, but even that adds to the person's fame and increases their price tag. The chorus repeats, emphasizing how fame can make people feel entitled and how it is seen as a means to elevate oneself from reality.
Overall, "Celebrity" is a fun, tongue-in-cheek song that mocks how society idolizes and celebrates fame, without fully realizing the dark side of the lifestyle. It's a commentary on how fame can turn people into caricatures of themselves, ultimately distancing them from reality.
Line by Line Meaning
Someday I'm gonna be famous, do I have talent well no
I don't really have any talent but I'm hoping to become famous someday.
These days you don't really need it thanks to reality shows
Reality shows have made it possible to become famous without having any real talent.
Can't wait to date a supermodel, can't wait to sue my dad
I'm looking forward to dating a supermodel and suing my dad for some reason.
Can't wait to wreck a Ferrari on my way to rehab
I'm so excited to wreck a Ferrari and end up in rehab for some reason.
'Cause when you're a celebrity
Being a celebrity means...
It's adios reality
...you say goodbye to reality.
You can act just like a fool
You can act like a fool and get away with it.
People think you're cool
You appear cool to people just because you're on TV.
Just 'cause you're on TV
People think you're cool just because you're on TV.
I can throw a major fit
I can throw a huge tantrum if my latte isn't exactly to my liking.
When they say I've gone insane
If people say that I'm crazy...
I'll blame it on the fame
...I'll blame it on being famous.
And the pressures that go with
I'll blame my craziness on the pressures of being famous.
Being a celebrity
Being famous comes with its own set of unique pressures.
I'll get to cry to Barbara Walters when things don't go my way
If things don't go my way, I'll get to cry on national television with Barbara Walters.
And I'll get community service no matter which law I break
Even if I break the law, I'll only get community service because I'm a celebrity.
I'll make the supermarket tabloids, they'll write some awful stuff
The tabloids will write terrible things about me, but that will only make me more famous.
But the more they run my name down the more my price goes up
The more the tabloids write about me, the more valuable I become as a celebrity.
'Cause when you're a celebrity
Being a celebrity means...
It adios reality
...you say goodbye to reality.
No matter what you do
You can do anything and still be considered cool.
People think you're cool
You appear cool to people just because you're on TV.
Just 'cause you're on TV
People think you're cool just because you're on TV.
I can fall in and out of love
I can quickly fall in and out of love and it won't matter because I'm a celebrity.
Have marriages that barely last a month
I can get married and divorced quickly and it won't matter because I'm a celebrity.
When they go down the drain
If my marriages fail...
I'll blame it on the fame
...I'll blame my celebrity status.
And say it's just so tough
I'll say it's tough being a celebrity as a way to justify my failed relationships.
Being a celebrity
Being famous comes with its own set of unique pressures.
So let's hitch up the wagons and head out west
Let's go to Hollywood and become famous.
To the land of the fun and the sun
Hollywood is a fun and sunny place.
We'll be real world bachelor jackass millionaires
We'll become wealthy, bachelor celebrities like the cast of the show 'Jackass.'
Hey hey Hollywood here we come
We're excited to become famous and go to Hollywood.
Lyrics Β© Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BRAD PAISLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
sammisox
Over a decade later and this song is still extremely relevant
Brian Coleman
@Jason Colegrove and even MORE so now
Kyle J
And counting
Katie Bates
Even more now then ever lol
Tom Hoffman
Perhaps more so than ever.
Claire Boyle
Including the masks no less that Brad is wearing
Chrystal Hendrix
17 years later and this song is as relevant today as it was then.
Brad Paisley
Hello, how are you doing today? Thank you so much for your love and support.
Ian M
Love the way Brad Paisley pokes fun at everything, he takes himself lightly also.Good music and good fun.
aquemeni541
Even a metalhead has to give props for this one! Awesome!