On the Charts. Sometimes Fort Worthians - people, labels, brands, etc. - get so big that they transcend our Best Of list.
That's the status Leon Bridges has reached. Plus, much, much more. The soul singer graced our cover in May 2015 and has since gone from loved local singer to nationally acclaimed musical artist. Let us count the ways. His album "Coming Home," reached No. 6 on the Billboard Charts and was nominated for a 2015 Grammy for Best R&B Album. His music video for "River" was nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award. He was the featured musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" in December of 2015. He appeared on the season 48 premiere of "Sesame Street." And his song "River" hit the small screen on HBO's Emmy-winning "Big Little Lies," starring Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman.
And, oh yeah. He released his sophomore album "Good Thing" in May. On the album, where Bridges mixes R&B influences in with his signature soul sound, he croons about his family's move to Fort Worth in his song "Georgia to Texas." "Left ATL for the Texas way … we drove 20 East in my daddy's "88."
Rolling Stone's Joe Levy said of the album, "…the skin-to-skin makeup sex ballad "Mrs." and the free-ranging autobiographical narrative "Georgia to Texas" [Bridges" second tribute to his mom in as many albums] show how expansive and individual Bridges can be, even as he guns for the charts."
Gunning for the charts paid off. "Good Thing" debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Top 200 chart.