Kane Brown Celebrates First No. 1 Hit “What Ifs” with BMI, ASCAP and SESAC

Music Row, friends and family packed the BMI lobby Tuesday night to celebrate RCA/Zone 4 artist and BMI songwriter Kane Brown’s chart-topper “What Ifs” with co-writers Matt McGinn (SESAC) and Jordan Schmidt (ASCAP) and featured vocalist, Lauren Alaina (BMI). The smash hit marked Brown and McGinn’s first respective number ones as songwriters. The unique event was peppered with special moments, including a presentation from Billboard recognizing Brown’s historic achievement as the first artist to top all 5 Billboard Country charts in a single week. Brown and Alaina, who both hail from the same small-town high school in Georgia, received an emotional surprise when their high school choir teacher Mr. Lamar Gillespi (Mr. G) was pulled on stage. Just prior to the surprise, BMI Number One Party sponsor Pinnacle Bank made a donation on behalf of Kane Brown to the CMA Foundation in support of music education. Each writer was honored with heartfelt congratulatory speeches from their respective publishers, including Kent Earls of Universal Music Publishing Group, Shane McAnally and Robin Palmer of SMACK songs and Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard of Tree Vibez Music. Brown’s “Heaven” is rapidly climbing the charts and can be heard on tour this spring with Chris Young and LANCO.