On July 13, 2019, Blanco Brown’s “The Git Up” began a 12-week reign on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
Brown’s debut entry, released as the first single from his album Honeysuckle & Lightning Bugs, was sparked by a viral dance challenge on TikTok and YouTube. He helped spur the craze by personally posting a tutorial.
“I grabbed spoons, tambourine, anything I could find that made a nice sound,” Brown told Billboard in 2019 of solely writing “The Git Up.” “When I got finished, it was so full of joy. I was doing the dance as I was writing it. I said, ‘This is going to be a song that makes people dance and brings joy.’ ”
While the single marked Brown’s first hit as a recording artist, he had previously produced songs for pop acts including Chris Brown, Fergie and Pitbull.
Brown followed “The Git Up” with “Just the Way,” his collaboration with Parmalee that led Country Airplay in March 2021 and hit No. 3 on Hot Country Songs.
Trending on Billboard
In 2020, Brown, who hails from Athens, Ga., was involved in a motorcycle accident, breaking his wrists, arms, legs and pelvis, resulting in a 12-hour surgery. “I was broken, but it didn’t break my spirit,” he told Billboard in his first interview after the accident six months later.
In June, Brown released a four-song EP, Cedar Walls & Whiskey. “I’m gonna keep on manifesting everything I do in life,” he mused to Billboard at the 2024 ACM Awards on May 16. “I’m gonna stay positive no matter what and just keep thriving and striving to get where I need to go.”