Noah Kahan is a 26-year-old folk-pop artist, raised in rural Vermont and New Hampshire. After releasing his third album “Stick Season” in October, his monthly listener skyrocketed from 8 to 16 million, and the album surpassed the album “Midnights” by Taylor Swift on the Billboard 200. In July, Kahan’s new single, “Dial Drunk” featuring Post Malone, reached Billboard’s Hot 100 No. 25, becoming his first hit single. Kahan often writes about his mental health, as he is very outspoken about his journey throughout therapy.

“I was privileged to be in a family where mental health was talked about a lot—and being upset or sad or having dark feelings was not something to be ashamed of—but I still felt ashamed, and I still felt alone,” Kahan said in an interview done the Boston Magazine. “It wasn’t until I started going to therapy very seriously, and taking medication, and meditating, and making changes in my life, and re-evaluating my behaviors and my actions that I felt like I started to heal.” 

His song “Stick Season” then went on to blow up on TikTok after singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo had sung a cover of it after releasing her new album “Guts”. Tony Dunham, AP Literature teacher and an avid listener to Noah Kahan, reflects on his listening experience.

“I just really like his music, I feel like it is a really good crossover between folk americana and the pop stuff that has been really catchy, those things that are really in right now,” Dunham said. “Last Christmas is really when I started to listen to him; I heard ‘Stick Season’ on the radio and then that album dropped—I have been a fan since. For my favorite song though, that is a really hard choice. I think anything like on the ‘Stick Season’ album but I really like how he has been releasing songs like Post Malone and Gracie Abrams.” 

Similarly, senior Leah Keating said she appreciates Noah Kahan as a singer because of his relatability. Some personal favorites Keating has are “Call Your Mom,” “Maine” and “She Calls Me Back.”

 “I love Noah Kahan, not only his humor and ability to interact with his audience but the way his lyrics are relatable and so well spoken,” Keating said. “I’ve listened to Noah since his first EP so it’s so cool to see how he’s grown as an artist and developed his fan base. I like how his music style is really fun but also sad, so there’s always a song for whatever emotion you feel.”

When it comes to Kahan’s rise to fame, senior Ava Vitaniemi said she remembers his songs blowing up as Tiktok audios leading to the singer reaching a new level of popularity so quickly compared to artists of different eras such as Dolly Parton who had a slower progression to superstardom.

A newly found listener, Mia Corsaro, a sophomore at CHS, also expressed enjoyment to Noah Kahan’s music.

 “I started listening to Noah Kahan when his album ‘Stick Season’ came out, the song that really stuck out to me was ‘Dial Drunk’. But when Olivia Rodrigo covered Stick Season I got really into him,” Corsaro said. “His voice and I also like his instrumentals and how they work really well with his lyrics, my favorite song is Northern Attitude.”

Noah Kahan has been nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Artist category for 2024 along with artists like Jelly Roll, Ice Spice, Coco Jones and Gracie Abrams. Speaking of Gracie Abrams, Noah’s latest song was a collaboration with her called “Everywhere, Everything”. It was released in December and has already reached No. 79 on the Billboard Charts making this Abrams’ first career entry on the chart. On February 4, 2024 we will find out if Noah Kahan has won Best New Artist.