Craig Wayne Boyd Gives Fans an Inside Look at the Making of ‘Top Shelf’

Craig Wayne Boyd has had good days….and bad days. But, Christmas Eve 2014 was a little bit of both for the singer, who won Season 7 of NBC’s The Voice. “I was at the dentist’s office for an emergency root canal,” the singer told Sounds Like Nashville, “and I found out while I was there that ‘My Baby’s Got A Smile On Her Face’ had hit number one on the charts.”

Boyd has just released Top Shelf, his first post-Voice album. Sounds Like Nashville is excited to bring you on an inside peek at the disc. He knows that it’s taken a while to get the music to the people, but hopes it will be worth the wait. “This album has been a labor of love. I started this album right after coming off ‘The Voice.’ I was gung-ho, and thought we were going to have a home for it right away, and it’s taken us a little bit to find a home. But, at the beginning of the year, we were able to do that.” The time extension allowed for some tweaks as the world is much different for the singer as opposed to then. “I wanted to go back in the studio and record a couple of new things for it. Life is in a different place. I’ve gotten married, have a beautiful daughter, and another child on the way. Life has changed a lot. I went back in, and we got the product that we have now. I’m very excited about it.”

The set’s first single is “Stuck In My Head,” one that Boyd hopes that fans will soon be hearing on their local stations. He says that unlike in the period following The Voice, he’s going to take a much slower approach to the business, something he wishes he would have done earlier. “I think that I probably wouldn’t have taken all of the larger shows that I did, and maybe taken a few more baby steps. I think I probably would have tied in with more artists. We did 240 shows right off the bat, and the majority of those shows, I was headlining.” Still, putting the pedal to the proverbial metal is the only way Boyd knows – and he comes by it naturally!

“I have always been a nose to the grindstone guy. So, honestly, it took me a while to realize what was going on. I was just trying to get done what needed to get done. Maybe I should have taken the time to enjoy those moments. I did enjoy a lot of them, but I guess I have my father’s personality. I think he only gets about five hours sleep a day. He’s a workaholic all the time.”

With a great team at Copperline Music Group and Reviver, the future looks very bright. “We want to get out there and take the music to the people. We’re going to try to be more strategic with our approach this time, as opposed to just playing headlining shows. Our goal is to hop on a tour, and to pace ourselves a little better. We’re ready to go.”

Top Shelf is available now.