Kissel was born in St. Paul, Alberta,[2] the son of Brenda and Gordon Kissel. He has one older brother, Jamison. He grew up on a cattle ranch in northeastern Alberta's Flat Lake region, where his family operates the Wengzynowski North View cattle ranch.
Career
2000–2011: Early years
Kissel recorded his first album, Keepin' It Country, when he was 12 years old.[3]
Kissel released three more albums, By Request in 2004, Tried and True – A Canadian Tribute in 2006 and My Roots Run Deep in 2008.[3][2] In 2006, Kissel was nominated for the Chevy Trucks Rising Star Award at the Canadian Country Music Association Awards.[4] Kissel was 16 years old at the time, making him the youngest CCMA nominee in the history of the awards show.[2]
In September 2014, Kissel led all country singers with eight nominations[9] for the Canadian Country Music Awards held in Edmonton, Alberta.
2015–2018: Pick Me Up and We Were That Song
In September 2017 Kissel won Male Artist of the Year, Interactive Artist of the Year, Country Music Program or Special of the Year and Video of the Year for I Didn't Fall in Love With Your Hair at the 2017 Canadian Country Music Awards.[10] He also released a new album We Were That Song on December 8, 2017.[11] In 2018 he went on a tour across Canada to support the album.[12]
2019–2021: Now or Never, What Is Life?
In September 2019, Kissel released his first American country radio single "Drink About Me",[13] the lead single from his fourth major-label album Now or Never which was released on January 1, 2020.[14][15] "Drink About Me" would become Kissel's second number one on the Canada Country chart, but wouldn't find a place on the American Country Billboard chart.[16] "She Drives Me Crazy" was released as the second single off the album in February 2020.[17]
In September 2020, Kissel released this third single off Now or Never, "A Few Good Stories"[18] and picked up 4 CCMA Awards, winning Male Artist of the Year, Fan's Choice, Creative Director, and Album of the Year for Now it Never.[19] Kissel then signed his first American record deal with Verge Records, a Nashville-based partner of ONErpm.[20] "A Few Good Stories" became Kissel's third Number One on Canada Country,[21] "She Drives Me Crazy" became Kissel's second Platinum-certified single,[22] and "Drink About Me" was nominated for Single of the Year at the 2021 Juno Awards.[23]
In March 2021, Kissel released the single "Make a Life, Not a Living", and announced his fifth major-label album What Is Life?, which was released on April 9, 2021.[24] "Make a Life, Not a Living" debuted by setting a record as the most-added song at Canadian country radio in a single week ever.[25] It later became his fourth career Number One at Canadian country radio,[21] and his first song to chart in the top 50 of the BillboardCanadian Hot 100.[26] Kissel won the "Fans' Choice" award at the 2021 Canadian Country Music Awards in November 2021.[27]
2022–present: The Compass Project
In 2022, he released the single "Ain't the Same" with American vocal group 98 Degrees.[28][29] Along with its follow-up single "Watch It", the song was included on Kissel's studio album The Compass Project - South Album, which was released on January 27, 2023. The entire box set saw Kissel release four different albums as part of The Compass Project in 2023.[30][31] The South Album also included the single "Never Have I Ever", which was released in January 2023 alongside the official announcement of the project.[32] The East Album was released on April 28, 2023.[33][32] Kissel was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for outstanding contributions to the Province of Alberta in April 2023.[34] In September 2023, he released the single "Two of Us" with American country artist Cooper Alan.[35] Kissel released the West Album on November 3, 2023, and followed with the live North Album on December 1, 2023.[36][37] The South Album received a nomination for Country Album of the Year at the 2024 Juno Awards.[38] In May 2024, Kissel released the single "Let Your Horses Run". In the fall of 2024 and early 2025, Kissel will embark on his first acoustic tour across Canada, "The Side You've Never Seen Tour".[39]
Personal life
Brett Kissel married Cecilia Friesen in July 2011 in Edmonton, Alberta. They lived in Nashville, Tennessee for several years. In 2016, Cecilia gave birth to their first daughter.[40] Over the next six years, she gave birth to their second daughter, and two sons.[41] Kissel and his family now reside on his family farm in northern Alberta.[42]
