Christopher Michael DeStefano[1] is a Grammy Award-winning American singer/songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist currently living in Nashville. As a songwriter, he has multiple #1 songs with artists Carrie Underwood (“Good Girl”, "Little Toy Guns"), Billy Currington (“Hey Girl”), Brett Eldredge ("Don't Ya"), Luke Bryan ("That's My Kind of Night", "Kick the Dust Up" ), Miranda Lambert & Carrie Underwood ("Somethin' Bad," later reworked as the opening theme for NBC Sunday Night Football), Rascal Flatts ("Rewind") and Jason Aldean ("Just Gettin' Started").
Chris DeStefano | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christopher Michael DeStefano |
| Origin | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Country, pop, pop rock |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2010–present |
DeStefano was raised in Mount Laurel, New Jersey and graduated from Lenape High School in 1993. He was in the school's music program while playing with a progressive rock band in the area.[2]
Underwood's "Good Girl", which DeStefano co-wrote, reached number 1 on Hot Country Songs in 2012.[3][4] He also co-wrote and produced Brett Eldredge's number 1 single "Don't Ya".[5] He co-wrote “Something in the Water” sung by Carrie Underwood which was the #1 song for seven weeks, the 3rd longest running female #1 Hot Country song in chart history. DeStefano co-wrote "Kiss Somebody" (July 2017) with Australian singer, Morgan Evans, and fellow American songwriter, Josh Osborne.[6] At the APRA Music Awards of 2018 the song and its writers won Country Work of the Year.[6][7]
Discography
editSongwriting discography
edit| Year | Artist | Album | Song | Co-written with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | David Archuleta | The Other Side of Down | "Something 'Bout Love" | David Archuleta, Sam Hollander, Dave Katz |
| 2011 | Kelly Clarkson | Stronger | "Let Me Down" | Kelly Clarkson |
| David Cook | This Loud Morning | "This Is Not The Last Time" | David Cook, David Hodges | |
| Eli Young Band | Life at Best | "Every Other Memory" | Catt Gravitt, Josh Kear | |
| Scotty McCreery | Clear as Day | "Better Than That" | Jess Cates, Craig Wiseman | |
| 2012 | Kris Allen | Thank You Camellia | "Turn the Pages" | Kris Allen, Jess Cates, Lindy Robbins |
| "Shut That Door" | Kris Allen, Jess Cates | |||
| Connie Britton | The Music of Nashville: Season 1 Volume 1 | "Buried Under" | Natalie Hemby | |
| Jana Kramer | Jana Kramer | "Why Ya Wanna" | Catt Gravitt, Ashley Gorley | |
| Haley Reinhart | Listen Up! | "Now That You're Here" | Haley Reinhart, Sam Watters | |
| Carrie Underwood | Blown Away | "Good Girl" | Carrie Underwood, Ashley Gorley | |
| 2013 | Lauren Alaina | — | "Barefoot and Buckwild" | Lauren Alaina, Jon Nite |
| Big Time Rush | 24/Seven | "Picture This" | Carlos Pena Jr., James Maslow, Ashley Gorley | |
| "Just Getting Started" | Kendall Schmidt, Logan Henderson, Ashley Gorley | |||
| "Lost in Love" (feat. Jake Miller) | Carlos Pena Jr., Jake Miller, Shari Short | |||
| "Na Na Na" | Carlos Pena Jr., Ashley Gorley | |||
| Luke Bryan | Crash My Party | "That's My Kind of Night" | Dallas Davidson, Ashley Gorley | |
| Billy Currington | We Are Tonight | “Hey Girl” | Rhett Akins, Ashley Gorley | |
| Gavin DeGraw | Make a Move | "Heartbreak" | Gavin DeGraw | |
| Brett Eldredge | Bring You Back | "Don't Ya" | Brett Eldredge, Ashley Gorley | |
| Florida Georgia Line | Here's to the Good Times | "Take It Out on Me" | Ashley Gorley, Shane McAnally | |
| Jake Owen | Days of Gold | "Ghost Town" | ||
| "Life of the Party" | Ashley Gorley, Dallas Davidson | |||
| Chris Young | A.M. | "Aw Naw" | Chris Young, Ashley Gorley | |
| "A.M." | ||||
| "Goodbye" | ||||
| "We're Gonna Find It Tonight" | Chris Young, Rhett Akins | |||
| 2014 | Jason Aldean | Old Boots, New Dirt | "Just Gettin' Started" | Rhett Akins, Ashley Gorley |
| Dan + Shay | Where It All Began | "Nothin' Like You" | Ashley Gorley, Dan Smyers, Shay Mooney | |
| Florida Georgia Line | Anything Goes | "Smile" | Dallas Davidson, Ashley Gorley | |
| "Every Night" | Tyler Hubbard, Tyler Kelley, Ashley Gorley | |||
| Lucy Hale | Road Between | "Kiss Me" | Mike Daly, Ashley Gorley, Lindy Robbins | |
| "Lie a Little Better" | Mike Daly, Melissa Peirce | |||
| "That's What I Call Crazy" | Ashley Gorley, Kacey Musgraves | |||
| Miranda Lambert | Platinum | "Somethin' Bad" (duet with Carrie Underwood) | Brett James, Priscilla Renea | |
| Rascal Flatts | Rewind | "Rewind" | Ashley Gorley, Eric Paslay | |
| Cole Swindell | Cole Swindell | "Swayin'" | Rhett Akins, Ashley Gorley | |
| Chase Rice | Ignite the Night | "Ready Set Roll" | Chase Rice, Rhett Akins | |
| "Do It Like This" | Dallas Davidson, Ashley Gorley | |||
| "Beach Town" | Chase Rice, Jon Nite | |||
| "Beer With The Boys" | Chase Rice, Ashley Gorley | |||
| "We Goin' Out" | Chase Rice, Shane Minor | |||
| "50 Shades Of Crazy" | Chase Rice, Jon Nite | |||
| "Best Beers Of Our Lives" | Chase Rice, Shane Minor | |||
| Carrie Underwood | Greatest Hits: Decade #1 | "Something in the Water" | Carrie Underwood, Brett James | |
| "Little Toy Guns" | Carrie Underwood, Hillary Lindsey | |||
| 2015 | Bon Jovi | Burning Bridges | "Life Is Beautiful" | Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Falcon |
| Luke Bryan | Kill the Lights | "Kick the Dust Up" | Dallas Davidson, Ashley Gorley | |
| Kelly Clarkson | Piece by Piece | "Second Wind" | Shane McAnally, Maren Morris | |
| Thomas Rhett | Tangled Up | "Tangled" | Adam Hoffman, Matt Lipkins, Josh Osborne, Scott Schwartz | |
| Carrie Underwood | Storyteller | "Renegade Runaway" | Carrie Underwood, Hillary Lindsey | |
| "Smoke Break" | ||||
| "Clock Don't Stop" | Hillary Lindsey, Blair Daly | |||
| 2016 | Dan + Shay | Obsessed | "From the Ground Up" | Dan Smyers, Shay Mooney |
| Rachel Platten | Wildfire | "Superman" | Rachel Platten, Lindy Robbins | |
| Bon Jovi | This House Is Not for Sale | "Roller Coaster" | Jon Bon Jovi, Ashley Gorley | |
| 2017 | Jerrod Niemann | This Ride | "Zero to Crazy" | Ashley Gorley, Shane McAnally |
| "Out of My Heart" | Ashley Gorley, Dallas Davidson | |||
| Thomas Rhett | Life Changes | "Grave" | Hillary Lindsey, Josh Miller | |
| Chase Rice | Lambs & Lions | "Lions" | Chase Rice, Ashley Gorley | |
| "Eyes on You" | ||||
| "Jack Daniel's Showed Up" | ||||
| "25 Wexford St." | Chase Rice, Jim Beavers | |||
| Chris Young | Losing Sleep | "Losing Sleep" | Josh Hoge | |
| 2018 | Morgan Evans | Things That We Drink To | "American" | Morgan Evans, Josh Osborne |
| "Kiss Somebody" | ||||
| "I Do" | Morgan Evans, Ashley Gorley | |||
| "Song for the Summer" | Morgan Evans, David Hodges | |||
| "Day Drunk" | Morgan Evans, Lindy Robbins | |||
| "Dance With Me" (feat. Kelsea Ballerini) | Morgan Evans | |||
| "Me On You" | Morgan Evans, Josh Osborne | |||
| "Things That We Drink To" | ||||
| "We Dream" | Morgan Evans, Jaren Johnston, Jon Nite | |||
| "Everything Changes" | Morgan Evans, Blair Daily | |||
| "Young Again" | Morgan Evans, Josh Kear | |||
| Carrie Underwood | NBC Sunday Night Football | "Game On" | Carrie Underwood, Brett James | |
| 2019 | Noah Kahan | Busyhead | "False Confidence" | Noah Kahan |
| Lady A | Ocean | "Mansion" | Hillary Lindsey, Josh Miller | |
| LoCash | Brothers | "Cold Beer Kind of Night" | Ashley Gorley, Rhett Akins | |
| Jake Owen | Greetings from... Jake | "Mexico in Our Minds" | Jaren Johnston, Ashley Gorley | |
| Runaway June | Blue Roses | "Trouble with This Town" | Naomi Cook, Jennifer Wayne, Liz Rose | |
| 2020 | Lee Brice | Hey World | "Don't Need No Reason" | Lee Brice, Kyle Jacobs |
| 2021 | Callista Clark | Real to Me (EP) | "Heartbreak Song" | Callista Clark, Emily Shackleton, Liz Rose |
| Chase Rice | The Album | "Best Night Ever" | Chase Rice, Matt Jenkins | |
| "Belong" | Chase Rice, Jon Nite | |||
| Mitchell Tenpenny | Midnight Diaries (EP) | "Bucket List" | Mitchell Tenpenny, Laura Veltz | |
| Tanner Adell | Honky Tonk Heartbreak | "Honky Tonk Heartbreak" | JT Harding, Tanner Adell | |
| Carrie Underwood | My Gift | "Favorite Time of the Year" | Carrie Underwood, Hillary Lindsey | |
| Chris Young | Famous Friends | "Break Like You Do" | Chris Young, Matt Rogers, Anthony Smith | |
| "At the End of a Bar" (feat. Mitchell Tenpenny) | Chris Young, Mitchell Tenpenny | |||
| "Love Looks Good on You" | Chris Young | |||
| "One of Them Nights" | Chris Young, Rhett Atkins | |||
| "When You're Drinking" | Chris Young, Matt Rogers, Anthony Smith | |||
| "Everybody Needs a Song" (feat. Old Dominion) | Chris Young, Brad Tursi | |||
| 2022 | Randy Houser | Note to Self | "Out and Down" | Randy Houser, Matt Rogers |
| Mitchell Tenpenny | This Is the Heavy | "Do You" | Mitchell Tenpenny, Claire Douglas, Michael Whitworth | |
| "Bucket Lost" | Mitchell Tenpenny, Laura Veltz | |||
| Carrie Underwood | Denim & Rhinestones | "Poor Everybody Else" | Carrie Underwood, Josh Miller | |
| 2023 | Chris Janson | The Outlaw Side of Me | "Outlaw Side of Me" | Chris Janson, Lee Thomas Miller |
| Kip Moore | Damn Love | "Silver & Gold" | Kip Moore, Dan Couch | |
| Jason Mraz | Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride | "I Feel Like Dancing" | Jason Mraz, Mai Bloomfield, Abby Dorsey, Rebecca Gebhart, Stephanie Jones, Chaska Potter, Mona Tavakoli, Eg White | |
| 2024 | Chris Young | Young Love & Saturday Nights | "Looking for You" | Chris Young, James McNair, Emily Weisband |
| "Don't Call Me" | Chris Young, Ashley Gorley | |||
| "Country Boy's Prayer" | Chris Young, Mitchell Tenpenny, Michael Whitworth | |||
| "Call It a Day" | Chris Young, Emily Weisband, Jon Nite | |||
| "Drink to Remember" | Chris Young, Corey Crowder | |||
| "Fall Out" | Chris Young, Emily Weisband, Jon Nite | |||
| "Fire" | Chris Young, Hardy | |||
| "Right Now" | Chris Young, Josh Hoge, Paul DiGiovanni | |||
| MacKenzie Porter | "Walk Away" | Nobody's Born with a Broken Heart | MacKenzie Porter, Jon Nite |
Production discography
edit| Year | Artist | Album | Song | Co-produced with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | David Archuleta | The Other Side of Down | "Something 'Bout Love" | S*A*M and Sluggo |
| 2011 | Kelly Clarkson | Stronger | "Let Me Down" | — |
| "Don't Be a Girl About It" | ||||
| 2012 | Kris Allen | Thank You Camellia | "Turn the Pages" | |
| Haley Reinhart | Listen Up! | "Now That You're Here" | ||
| 2013 | Big Time Rush | 24/Seven | "Picture This" | Damon Sharpe |
| "Just Getting Started" | ||||
| "Lost in Love" | ||||
| "NaNaNa" | ||||
| Brett Eldredge | Bring You Back | "Don't Ya" | ||
| 2014 | Chase Rice | Ignite the Night | "Ready Set Roll" | |
| "Do It Like This" | ||||
| "Beach Town" | ||||
| "Beer With The Boys" | ||||
| "We Goin’ Out" | ||||
| "50 Shades of Crazy" | ||||
| "Best Beers of Our Lives" | ||||
| "Mmm Girl" | ||||
| "Carolina Can" | ||||
| "Gonna Wanna Tonight" | ||||
| "U Turn" | ||||
| "What’s Your Name" | ||||
| "Country In Ya" | ||||
| "Ride" | ||||
| Dan + Shay | Where It All Began | "Nothin' Like You" | ||
| 2015 | Kelly Clarkson | Piece by Piece | "Second Wind" | |
| Kip Moore | Wild Ones | "Wild Ones" | ||
| "Complicated" | ||||
| Thomas Rhett | Tangled Up | "Learned It from the Radio" | — | |
| "Playing with Fire" (featuring Jordin Sparks)" | ||||
| 2017 | Chase Rice | Lambs & Lions | "Lions" | — |
| "On Tonight" | ||||
| "Unforgettable" | ||||
| "Eyes on You" | Jacquire King | |||
| "Jack Daniel's Showed Up" | — | |||
| "This Cowboy's Hat" (feat. Ned LeDoux) | ||||
| 2018 | Morgan Evans | Things That We Drink To | All 11 tracks | |
| Carrie Underwood | NBC Sunday Night Football | "Game On" | Mark Bright | |
| 2021 | Chase Rice | The Album | "Lonely If You Are" | Chase Rice |
| "Best Night Ever" | ||||
| "Messy" | ||||
| "In the Car" | ||||
| "You" | — | |||
| "Break. Up. Down" | ||||
| "Down Home Runs Deep" | ||||
| "Belong" | ||||
| Chris Young | Famous Friends | "Break Like You Do" | Chris Young | |
| "At the End of a Bar" | ||||
| "Love Looks Good on You" | ||||
| "One of Them Nights" | ||||
| Tanner Adell | Honky Tonk Heartbreak | "Honky Tonk Heartbreak" | — | |
| 2024 | Chris Young | Young Love & Saturday Nights | "Looking for You" | — |
| "Young Love & Saturday Nights" | Chris Young, Corey Crowder | |||
| "Don't Call Me" | Chris Young | |||
| "Country Boy's Prayer" | ||||
| "Call It a Day" | ||||
| "Don't Stop Now" | Chris Young, Corey Crowder | |||
| "Fall Out" | Chris Young | |||
| "Fire" | ||||
| "Right Now" | ||||
| "Million Miles" | Chris Young, Corey Crowder | |||
| "Everybody Grew Up" | ||||
| "Knee Deep in Neon" | Chris Young | |||
| "Down" |
References
edit- ^ "ACE Title Search". Archived from the original on 6 March 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ^ Pensiero, Nicole. "Mr. Write", South Jersey Magazine, February 2014. Accessed June 8, 2020. "Chris DeStefano’s career has had more twists and turns than, say, one of the chart-topping songs he’s co-written for the likes of Carrie Underwood or Luke Bryan. The Grammy Award-winning Mount Laurel native—who now divides his time between Nashville and Los Angeles—is riding high on a wave of acclaim for his songwriting and production talents in the world of country music.... 'I took private lessons, and Lenape High School (where he graduated from in 1993) had an amazing music program—I learned so much there,' DeStefano recalls."
- ^ "Chris DeStefano". ASCAP. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
- ^ "Chris DeStefano & Ashley Gorley Top the Charts with "Good Girl"". ASCAP. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
- ^ Morris, Edward (24 September 2013). "Brett Eldredge Savors First No. 1 With Co-Writers Ashley Gorley, Chris DeStefano". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
- ^ a b "Full List of Winners". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). 2018. Archived from the original on 5 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ "Country Work of the Year". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.