Less than 12 months ago, Hudson Westbrook was attending school in his native Texas, hunting cattle for a living and planning to join his family in the oil and gas industry. instead, He released a self-titled debut EP, has a string of hit streaming songs, including “5 to 9” and “House Again,” and is quickly adding his own name tThere are more and more new artists making their own sound within traditional country music and timeless songwriting.
“It’s crazy,” Westbrook said advertising billboard His whirlwind year. “It’s been a lot better than I expected and if we could have half the success we’ve had so far I’d be happy.”
Westbrook grew up in Stephenville and his life revolved around sports and farm life. He was part of a high school football team that won a state championship. He also worked with cattle and was involved with Future Farmers of America, serving as chapter president in 75 schools.
He started playing guitar in 2020 and wrote his first song last year after attending Texas Tech University. In April, Westbrook released his breakthrough song “Take It Slow,” which has been streamed more than 10 million times on Spotify. Hudson said that soon after he posted his first video, many music executives began contacting him, so he sought advice from Texas musician Grant Gilbert, who recommended Warner Music to him Distributed by River House Artists in Nashville.
“He said, ‘These are the best people I can direct you to,’ and then I talked to the booking agents and they said the same thing — ‘I trust them. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.’
Westbrook now joins River House and is managed by River House’s Creative Director/A&R Zebb Luster, where he’s been delivering a string of resonant songs over the past few months, including “Dopamine,” the romantic “5 to 9” (11.5 million Spotify streams since its release in August) and the thought-provoking “House Again” (more than 14 million Spotify streams since its release in October). In the process, he saw Spotify’s follower count balloon to more than 2.6 million per month.
“When I started writing, I was really pushing myself out of my comfort zone and finding my identity as an artist,” Westbrook said. “When we released 5 to 9, I was like, ‘This is real; this is real; I think this can work.’ I think that’s a major reason it’s working now, because I’m writing about my own experience. things.
westbrooks “House Again” ranked No. 14 in 2019 advertising billboard‘s Hot Country Songs Chart. His seven-song self-titled effort arrived in November, peaking at No. 46 on the Top Country Albums chart, while Westbrook rose to No. 25 on the Emerging Artists chart. According to Luminate, Westbrook’s work has been viewed 79.6 million times in the official U.S. on-demand broadcast.
Those live streams have translated into growing concert audiences, and Westbrook said he’s doing his best to connect with as many fans as possible.
“We played a free show at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth and a thousand people showed up,” he recalls. “The merchandise queue was four hours long and I sat there signing all of it. Then we went to Midland to open [in September] And the merch line is still in the middle of their set.
Westbrook appears poised to continue his upward trajectory in 2025. He also plans to release a full album.
westbrook, advertising billboardCountry Rookie of the Month, talks about his career, songwriting and his favorite music.
What’s the story behind “Coming Home Again”?
We came up with the hook and I thought, “What if this was about my parents getting divorced?” We wrote about just little things I went through as a kid, watching my parents get divorced. I used to live in the country with a lot of land around the house and then I had to move to a golf course [community] There is an acre of zero point surrounding it. This is a big change. I feel like it speaks to the frustration I felt as a kid, watching this all happen and not being able to control anything or figure out why it wasn’t working.
You collaborated with several top songwriters on the EP, including Marv Green. What was it like writing the songs for this project?
marvelous. I’m very nervous. You are a new artist and your whole life has changed. These guys have been doing this for years and writing number one and you’re like, “What the hell. I walk into this room and anything I say is going to sound stupid. I feel like we wrote “House Again” ” day was the first day of really opening up, like, “This is what I think. This is my experience. I realized I have to make sure I speak out about my experience., I’m writing about something I’ve experienced because I relate most to it and I can write in the best direction.
Who would you like to write or record with?
I think Randy Montana is my dream [co-writer]and Dean Dillon. I love all the old guys who made the country what it is today. And then I think for a collaboration, Megan Moroney would be really cool, along with Parker McCollum or Ella Langley.
What is a song you wish you had written?
“Like a Cowboy” by Parker McCollum, written by Chris Stapleton and Al Anderson.
What’s your desert island album?
Benson Boone’s Fireworks and skates.
What are your thoughts on the current state of country music?
I think everything new leads back to the old. I think people gravitate towards voices like Merle Haggard and Tracy Lawrence. I think we saw that firsthand with Zach Topp. People gravitate toward those ancient sounds.
What TV show are you watching right now?
I started to watch Landman On Paramount Plus. It’s a movie about what I would be doing if I wasn’t making music. I looked at it and I thought, “Man, there’s still stuff in there.“ I’d still love to do that one day. I’ve never seen it yellowstone parkbut Landman It’s my stuff now.
What is your most unforgettable holiday memory?
I think the most unforgettable Christmas memory for me is [from] It was Christmas three years ago when my grandfather was about to pass away. He sat us all down and told us he was going to die, but he prayed and said everything was going to be okay. He said, “Don’t worry about me. You all continue to spend Christmas at my house. You’re always welcome to come here for Christmas. It’s really sad, but it was really cool to see him say, ‘You’re still welcome here.’
What does being from Texas mean to you?
I will always be loyal to Texas. I live in Lubbock. If you live in Nashville – and don’t hate anyone who lives in Nashville [in Nashville] – but it can become a very circular lifestyle. Writing at 10, writing at 2, watching shows on the weekends – I love music, but I find there’s a beauty in separating yourself from something you love so that when you do it again you love it even more.
