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In 2008, Green released " Let Me", as the first single from what would become his final label-released album, What I'm For.
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CMT questioned the album as reaching for the "uninspired pop sound of today’s Nashville," with songs "starting to sound too much alike" and "crossing the line into Nashville pop" and perhaps not "honest and natural." Green acknowledged that he needed hits to sustain the career that he wanted. Green released his album Cannonball in 2006. Green joined popular country music artists including Keith Urban, Gretchen Wilson, Dave Matthews Band, and Kenny Chesney on major tours. Despite weak label support, the album peaked at number 6 on the U.S. In late 2004, "Lucky Ones" was Green's 3rd and final CD release on the Universal/Republic label. He achieved some critical and popular success but was unable to match his prior success and earned a "sellout" label. Green's mid-2000s period aimed to capitalize on his Wave on Wave commercial achievement. The Christian-tinged title track remains Green's top career hit.
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The album featured pop flourishes and sound engineering that was incrementally more compressed than that of "Three Days" but dramatically more so than that of his independent releases. The adventurous, Beatles-influenced "Wave on Wave", was released in 2003, with the title track reaching number 3 on the charts by the end of the year. The album was released to acclaim in 2001. Green's first major-label recorded album, Three Days, repackaged his best pre-major songs and new tracks with modern sound engineering. Green was sponsored by Miller Lite and sold more than 250,000 albums, even without signing a major label recording contract. Green's appearance at the 1998 Willie Nelson July 4 Picnic was his first step towards nationwide recognition, and he was soon playing sold out shows in Texas. Īfter committing to music, Green drew the attention of Willie Nelson and joined a tour featuring Nelson and several other famous country musicians. Green had been counting his money from a weekend of singing and his stepfather knew he would need motivation to fully pursue music as a career. Green did not commit fully to his music career until 1997 when his stepfather fired him from his job as a fuel wholesaler. In 1995, Green independently recorded and released a series of albums produced by Lloyd Maines using money borrowed from his parents. Green started his music career as an 18-year-old at Texas Tech playing small gigs at bars and clubs around Lubbock.
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