Kane Brown Shocked at ‘What Ifs’ Surprise Party
What if "What Ifs" went gold, but Kane Brown didn't know it?
That's exactly what happened in Nashville Monday (July 17), when Brown unknowingly became the guest of honor at a surprise party for his recent feat. Headed by Sony, the party took place at a talent agency near downtown Nashville, and when Brown walked in, he was none the wiser about what was to come.
Brown thought he was there to witness an award being given to Rob Beckham (co-head of WME Nashville), but that changed when Liz Kennedy of the Recording Industry Association of America took the microphone.
"In the last six months, just four — only four — country songs have been released and also certified in our program," Kennedy said. "And what if I told you one of those songs was Kane Brown's? ... Congratulations, Kane."
Brown was shocked when he realized the near hundred people in attendance were there to congratulate him. The singer shared a confused look followed by a series of smiles when he finally realized what happened and walked to the front of the room to receive his new hardware from Randy Goodman of Sony. Brown was presented with a plaque for the song, which hit the longstanding equivalent benchmark of 500,000 copies sold.
"I just wanna say thanks to everybody that's helped me," Brown said with a shy sentiment. "I wouldn't be where I'm at today if it wasn't for y'all so thank y'all so much for believing in me with all the hate on Facebook and everything."
The Facebook "hate" Brown speaks of is also part of the same social media that loves him and gave rise to his fame. Currently, Brown has more than 350,000 YouTube subscribers across his channels.
"What Ifs" is at No. 20 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart and climbing. The song features fellow rising country star Lauren Alaina, whom Brown has actually known since middle school. The two even shared the same choir class at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School in their native Georgia. Alaina was not in attendance at Monday's event.
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