Kane Brown

NASHVILLE, TENN. >> The 28-year-old multi-hyphenate who broke out on social media has let his ear for what’s hot lead his uncharted path in country music, all the way up to his third record “Different Man” out Friday.

But even after a string of eight No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay songs, Brown took his time finding the special song his fans have been begging him for: a duet with his wife, Katelyn.

“We’ve had, like, four other songs that we were going to do,” Brown said, of his wife, who was also an aspiring singer-songwriter when they met in 2015.

Nothing felt right until he heard a song — the only one on the album that he didn’t co-write — that fit her style, which Brown describes in the vein of the big vocal pop like Whitney or Mariah. He’s so confident “Thank God” is a hit, he’s ready to pitch it as an awards show performance.

“After we recorded it, I was like, ‘Are you going to sing this on the ACMS?’ And she’s like, ‘No.’ And I was like, ‘This is going to be the biggest song on the record,’” Brown said with a grin.

Brown has a right to feel confident in his song choices and his production. His latest hit, “Like I Love Country Music” shot to No. 1 on the country airplay chart and his cross-genre songs with artists like Khalid, Marshmello and Becky G have exposed him to a worldwide audience that recognizes his name and smooth baritone.

But behind the scenes of the industry, he’s pushing into new territory. He coproduced his new record, has hosted awards shows, started his own record label and was the first male country artist to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards last month, a show that generally doesn’t court a country fanbase.

During his last tour he played every NBA arena in the country, often sporting a jersey for each team on stage.

Brown has already jumped over genre lines and his sights are set on international audiences with tour stops in Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe in the coming months.