Chase Rice has lived a full and well-rounded life before turning 40—and before establishing himself as one of country music’s hottest voices. Rice’s résumé includes elite college football athlete with NFL aspirations to a reality TV star—finishing runner-up on the hit TV series Survivor, Nicaragua. Along the way he also earned a pair of NASCAR Sprint Cup championships as a pit crew member for top driver Jimmie Johnson.
Now the former North Carolina Tar Heels linebacker’ drops his seventh album, Go Down Singin’, which he calls his best work yet. This comes after his previous personal fave, the uniquely titled 2023 album I Hate Cowboys and All Dogs Go to Hell. Over a decade after he started his pursuit of music greatness, Rice, who just turned 39, is confident in this latest release.
“This album is my favorite album I’ve ever done,” Rice says, “because it’s real, it’s personal, it’s great songwriting, it’s storytelling, and it’s country.”
Rice’s entry into country music is anything but ordinary. As he rehabbed an ankle injury that eventually cut his football career short, Rice turned to the internet for DIY guitar lessons. After learning a few chords, Rice turned a low moment of his life (his father had also passed away at the time) into a country music opportunity. Rice has developed into a successful singer-songwriter who continues to rely on a hard-nosed work ethic—similar to the dedication that helped him earn a starting spot at UNC. Whether it’s moving up the charts, or keeping fit, Rice knows the process going forward will always be a continuous grind.
“Other people are more talented than me,” he admits. “Morgan Wallen is a way better singer than me. Zach Bryan’s a way better poetic songwriter than me… So what can I do better than [them]? That’s the competitive side of this. But I’m just trying to be the best version of me.”
Chase Rice Enjoys the Outdoor Life
Rice plans a tour in the spring of 2025, during that time he’ll also be working on songs for his next album. The delay he says is to allow his fans to soak in the album. “I’m going to give the give people time to learn the album and really dig into it,” he says.
But while he doesn’t hit the weights as often or intense as he did during his playing days, Rice, who also owns a buffalo ranch outside of Nashville, does use his time away from the stage to enjoy the outdoors.
“I’ll be elk hunting, deer hunting, duck hunting with my dog,” he says. “When winter rolls around, I’ll snowboard, and I’ll have time to write a lot of songs.”
One experience that still stands out to him personally was a rucking adventure with renowned bow hunter Cameron Hanes, which included carrying a boulder up a mountain. Rice said Hanes took it easy on him, but it was still something he recalls fondly while acknowledging how intense it was.
“He’s an absolute animal,” Rice says. “He could’ve smoked me, but he didn’t. Cam’s a good guy. He’s been a big influence on me.”
Carrying a boulder up North Carolina’s Mount Pisgah was difficult, he says, but like every other challenge, Rice has found ways to adjust and succeed when faced with strong forms of adversity. His wisdom can be applied to both physical and life challenges.
“You got to be smarter than everybody,” Rice says. “You got to be work harder and be smarter than everybody.”
He used to apply that principle on the gridiron and at the start of his music career, but now he invests more time and energy into himself without concern for outside factors.
“I just want to bust my a** and make the best music that I can make,” he says. “That’s the only chance that I have to be the best artist and the best person that I can be, and that’s where I’m at.”
Forever a Football Mentality
Rice’s hard-nosed mindset was forged in part thanks to the weight room. He spent a lot of time lifting for his college coach at North Carolina, and everything had a purpose—get better to perform better.
“We did a lot of bands, a lot of squats. a lot of power cleans,” he says. “[Our coach] was big on fast-twitch muscles. Anything we were doing that was quick and fast, that was huge, which I don’t do anymore, and I need to get back on.”
Rice no longer works with that coach, but he never lost that fire for training. He started working at a CrossFit gym and met the owner, who became his trainer during the pandemic. That trainer is now on the road with Rice and his team working in a management position. The workouts involve more bodyweight and bands than plates and bars. But the work is still challenging and rewarding while he maintains a weight of around 205 pounds.
Chase Rice explained, “I’m just trying to optimize my body now, as opposed to being a crazy fit dude. I just want to be in good shape.”
Preparing to get onstage is much different than putting on the pads and taking the field. But there are still many people watching him do what he does, and he never loses sight of that. The main difference is instead of preparing his body for the collisions every down, he is preparing his voice to inspire and entertain the fans.
“I want to be optimal while I’m up there on stage and be able to sing and give the people the best show that I can. So, yeah, it’s a game day,” he says.
Rice continued by explaining that the mindset is quite different as well. “Football, it was do your job and be an absolute assassin on the defensive side of the field. That’s the goal. And music is not that it’s very it’s artistic, it’s feeling, it’s vulnerability, it’s being the most real version of yourself.”
Chase Rice is a DIY Country Music Star
Rice’s talent on the guitar actually came to him while he was recovering from an ankle injury. He started learning from watching YouTube videos, then a friend showed him some chords. Those chords eventually became a part of Florida Georgia Line’s hit song, Cruise, which became his first No. 1 song as a co-songwriter. Even though he is thriving in country music, he is still a student in his mind.
“The process is still happening, which is the crazy part, like I’m learning new s*** every day on these new records.”
His dedication to the process and success he has seen in recent years goes back to that linebacker mentality—do whatever it takes to win, and don’t consider any other result.
“I’ve not had a plan B since I started doing this, which is a huge part of it.”
That mentality is going to be beneficial as Rice enters future stages of his musical career. He’ss currently a free agent as an artist. He recently ended his record deal with a previous label and is now exploring promoting himself and his music independently. He is not one for self-promotion but is adjusting to it.
“I logged into TikTok [receently] for the first time in my life,” he admits
As Rice did on the field, in the weight room, and on his boulder-carrying adventure with Hanes, the end-goal is what matters, and Rice’s current goal is clear.
“What’s important to me is people liking my music, coming to shows and sing along, and us having a good time.”
Rice’s new album is available to pre-order now. You can follow him on Instagram @chaserice.