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Chris Janson just released a heartfelt song called “Bye Mom,” and it’s resonating with audiences in ways that none of his other songs have ever done.
Talking about his latest track before the 14th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards on Wednesday evening (August 25), Janson said that “Bye Mom” started as a tribute to the late mother of his friend and co-writer — and it turned into so much more. Only a week old, “Bye Mom” has already earned its place as a tribute to mothers everywhere. “I’ve never had a song do this before,” Janson said of the way it’s resonated with fans, saying earlier that he’s “just really thankful to be the vessel that gets to carry that song.”
He also revealed that the lyric that stands out to him the most — as a son and as a parent — is “When you're all grown up but you're still a kid / And you realize you're somebody / That somebody loves more than themselves.”
Janson delivered a “heartwarming performance” of “He Stopped Loving Her Today” at the 2021 ACM Honors, taking place in the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The performance went hand-in-hand with Curly Putnam’s acceptance of his ACM Poet’s Award.
“I’m very humbled by it mostly, I’m excited about it,” Janson said before the show. “(I’m) grateful they asked me to be a part of it.”
It was one of several live performances by Janson recently, as music re-emerges amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the ACM Honors on Wednesday, Janson played a show in Idaho on Tuesday (August 24), and dubbed it “unbelievable” to get back to old fans and new ones.
“There’s an extreme amount of gratitude from the fans,” Janson said, adding that live shows have “re-energized me…It’s just been, probably the funnest I’ve had in music in a long time.”