Singer Bryan Andrew Wilson is cruising the US music charts with, “The Ride,” a joint production by Awaz Beatz, and The Exclusives who are best known for their collaborations with DJ Khaled, Chris Brown, and August Alsina. It’s a sharp departure from the gospel songs Bryan Wilson was known for in the 1990s when he was signed to Malaco Records and his rendition of “His Eye is on the Sparrow” with The Mississippi Children’s Choir made him a star at the age of ten.
Early on there were mix-ups with the iconic Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. “Media people would call my house to talk to Brian Wilson,” he laughs. “I said this is Bryan. They said, you sound too young. That happened a lot.” Then, in the 2010s, another gospel singer named Brian Wilson rose to fame. “A Dallas radio station booked him thinking they were getting me, and I was approached by people who were trying to get him,” Wilson recalled. “Looking back on it, it was really hilarious.”
Eventually, Wilson’s manager suggested that he start using his middle name to end the confusion with Beach Boy Brian Wilson, and to the other artist who started calling himself Brian Courtney Wilson.
Since the name change in 2014, Wilson has had seven Billboard gospel chart hits such as “Turning Away” and the No. 1 hit, “Overflow.” His first R&B single “Only You” hit the Smooth AC Top 20 in 2019 and “The Ride” is opening new doors.
“`The Ride’ has gotten me on radio stations and DSP playlists that I’ve never been on before,” Wilson says. “I’m really excited about the new direction my career is taking. Also, those mix-ups don’t happen anymore, but I would love to meet Brian Wilson one day or even sing something with him. I’m a fan. Those Beach Boys harmonies and vocal arrangements are out of this world. I’ve recorded a song, `I Want my Life Back,” that I plan to release later this year and I do all of these dreamy Beach Boys kind of harmonies on the end of it as sort of a tribute to the original Brian Wilson.”