Chris Young Takes Over Turkey Cooking Duties

Chris Young recently lost sixty pounds after changing his diet and starting a daily workout gym plan. So, Thanksgiving and all the food that comes with it may be a challenge for the country star.

While he may not eat as much as he has in years past, Chris did tell us about what he decided to cook for his family. He told us, "So the turkey every year is on me now because last year I decided, 'Hey, I'm going to cook the turkey,' and I'm going to do everything. My mom saw me doing it and said, 'I don't have to do this anymore.' So, now that job has fallen to me."

He added, "It's a lot of prep work. And it's a lot of fun when it gets finally done. You take it out of the oven, and everybody gets to carve into it. It's pretty cool."

We talked with Young when he walked the red carpet in Nashville at the BMI Awards l(11/7), and he looked great in a black suit after his weight loss.

Chris told us about his decision to lose weight, "Honestly, it was just time. It was a health thing. My cholesterol was really high. When you go into your doctor, and your doctor who never says anything to you ever is like, 'Well, you're a little unhealthy right now." I was like, 'Oh no, really?' For the first time in my life. So I was like, 'I'm gonna change some stuff up; it's time.' So I did that."

Young also noted that, "It's just made everything easier and more fun. I enjoy being in the gym, so I just changed what I ate. I'm just not eating pizza at midnight; that's all is; it's not a big deal."

Chris Young has been scoring consistent number-one songs in country music since he won the Nashville Star in 2006. To date, his song chart-topping success is at eleven.

Young recently praised fellow Tennessean and country star Jelly Roll. He said of his friend's success, "I'm just not even going to talk about me because, at this point, I just want to talk about him. And how welcoming and awesome and polite and nice that guy is. And you know, he's just having such a cool run right now."

He added, "I remember talking about this music he's putting out like, I think, well over a year ago. And it's just amazing to see him having the moment he's having. "

In the same interview, Chris cited a hero of his. He said, "A female artist that has definitely influenced me from the perspective of the stage show, vocalist, performance, and just how much she has accomplished in her career that I look up to is Reba McEntire. If you make a Mount Rushmore of country music, I have a whole lot of reasons why she should be on there."

He added, "And she's just a fantastic person and a fantastic artist. Another woman in the music industry that has really had a profound impact on me, especially from a songwriting perspective, is Liz Rose (frequent Taylor Swift collaborator). I got a chance to meet her really early on in my career, and obviously, she's had so many hits, so many hits. But just being in a room with her, being able to learn from her, I feel incredibly lucky to have that opportunity, and to have someone that's that adept at songwriting help me learn and help guide me as a songwriter and an artist."

As Chris celebrates his 38th birthday today (6/12) with his latest radio single, "Looking For You," entering the Top twenty on the country charts, we countdown what we believe are his finest songs.