Chayce Beckham has officially broken the American Idol curse with “23.” The song is his first No. 1 song at country radio.

Luke Bryan, an Idol judge and mentor for Beckham, admits he is “over the moon” about his protege’s first hit song.

In a recent interview with Taste of Country Nights, On Demand, the “Kick the Dust Up” singer couldn’t stop singing Beckham’s praises.

“To get to know him and how good of a person he is, he’s just a good dude,” the megastar says. “And to think that he wrote ’23’ by himself a couple years ago, and even from American Idol, winning that, to now … I know he’s been celebrating probably the same way that I celebrated.”

Beckham has only been in mainstream country for a little while, but he already has much to celebrate. He won Season 19 of American Idol in 2021 and was thrust into stardom overnight. Before that, the Cali-born Okie native was in a band, and he remembers being enamored by classic country music long before that, listening to George Jones and Johnny Cash with his grandmother.

“I got my first guitar when I was three years old. I played guitar for as long as I can remember,” Beckham says. “However, I didn’t start singing until I was older. I always wanted to, but I didn’t have control of my voice when I was young.”

Watch his Taste of Country Nights performance of “23” to see just how powerful Beckham’s vocals really are:

Evan Paul is the host of Taste of Country Nights, a syndicated radio show heard on more than 130 country radio stations nationwide, every night from 7PM to midnight. He plays the best new country music and interviews today’s top stars, like Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Dan + Shay, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton, Lady A, + more!