While making final preparations for his Thursday evening flight out of Atlanta to Los Angeles, Carl “Chip” Days said his hometown could be in for a surprise shout out during Sunday night’s 54th Grammy Awards.
“My aunt (Wanda Bishop) says if I make it on stage, I need to give a shout out to Hartsville,” said Days, who is nominated for two Grammies as co-songwriter and performance on R&B recording artist Charlie Wilson’s chart-topping single, “You Are.”
“If my named gets called and I get the chance, I might just do it,” Day said, nervous laughter trailing behind his words.
Day, who is best know for finishing in fifth place behind Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken during the second season of American Idol, is nominated in the categories of Best R&B Performance for Writing and Best R&B Song, both for co-writing “You Are” with Wilson. A soulful R&B ballad, “You Are” topped the Billboard charts for 16 weeks last spring, narrowly eclipsing the chart's all-time record of 18 weeks.
“It’ really hasn’t hit me yet,” said Days, who will attend Sunday’s awards ceremony with his mother, Gedell Days McCall. “There’s no question this is something I’ve dreamed of for a long time. It will all probably sink in when I step on that red carpet.”
Days, 30, has come along, long way from the young man who graduated from Hartsville High School in 2000. According to his father, Carl Days Sr., Chip began singing in church at a young age and has been following his dream ever since.
“Obviously, we are all very excited for him,” said Days Sr. “He’s worked hard and he’s earned it.”
After graduation, Days moved to Atlanta and was working at Six Flags Over Atlanta Amusement Park when he decided to try out for the second season of American Idol in 2003. After toughing his way through more than 70,000 hopefuls, Days made it to the top five before being eliminated. He made his television debut live in front of more than 20 million viewers.
Days, whose roommate during the program was eventual winner Studdard, describes his journey through the American Idol process as being “surreal at the time.”
“As crazy as it sounds, it seems like yesterday when I was performing in front of Simon, Paula and Randy,” Days said. “There’s no question that the experience helped me to become a better artist. It certainly opened a lot of doors that otherwise might not have been opened.”
After performing on the show, Days opted to focus more on his songwriting talents and continued to work on his craft, collaborating with artists such as Montell Jordan and Keith Sweat. In 2007, he wrote the “Struggle no More,” the title track to the film, “Daddy’s Little Girls,” written and directed by Tyler Perry.
“A lot of it’s about building relationships within the music and entertainment business,” said days, who considers himself a songwriter first and foremost. “You have to prove yourself over a period of time. If you love what you do and you do the work, in most cases its going to pay off.”
To take a home a Grammy Sunday, Days will need to be chosen over some other very talented nominees. In the Best R&B Song category, a songwriters award, he’ll be going up against “Far Away” ( Larrance Dopson, Lamar Edwards, Sterling Simms and Justin Smith), “Fool For You” (Cee Lo Green, Melanie Hallim and Jack Splash),
“Not My Daddy” (Kelly Price and Stokley), and “Pieces Of Me” (Charles Harmon, Claude Kelly and Ledisi Young). In the best Best R&B Performance category, Days is nominated along with Marsha Ambrosius (“Far Away”), Ledisi (“Pieces Of Me”), Kelly Price & Stokley (“Not My Daddy”), and Corinne Bailey Rae (“Is This Love”).
So what does Days think of his chances?
“I actually think they are pretty good,” said Days, who said he had yet to think about an acceptance speech. “But whatever happens, it is an honor just to be nominated. I plan to take in the whole weekend and enjoy it. It’s an opportunity to get your name out there and meet a lot of people.”
Days said there is no question the nominations will open even more doors for him. For the moment, however, life is good and the future is bright.
He said he has a number of projects in the works, including one with another former American Idol runner-up – Grammy Award-winning singer and Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson.
“It could be my ticket to the 55th Grammys,” Days said.
This story was originally found on scnow.com.
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