Songfacts®:

• In 2020, Chayce Beckham was at rock bottom. His band couldn't play any gigs because of lockdown, he'd split with his girlfriend of seven years, and he had a serious drinking problem. One night he had a few drinks too many, made the poor decision to get behind the wheel, and ended up in a serious car accident, waking up with his truck overturned on the side of the highway. This terrifying experience served as a harsh wake-up call. Beckham turned to music for healing as he vowed to start his life afresh. The incident inspired him to write the song "23," which details his struggles with alcohol.
  
  "I wrote it and I kind of kept in my pocket and played it for people here and there," Beckham told US Magazine. "It was never anything that I was banking on, or I was like, 'Hey, listen to this great song.' People would tell me, 'Man, that song is going to be on the radio one day,' and I was like, 'There's no way,' because I just couldn't picture it."
• Fueled by his mother and stepfather's encouragement, Beckham applied for ABC's American Idol. He made the show and performed "23" in the Top Four week.
• Beckham was crowned the winner of the 19th season of American Idol. Released on May 21, 2021 as his debut single, "23" topped the iTunes chart. He was the first Idol champ to release a self-written tune as his winner's song.
  
  "That song was saved for my debut single, and it did really well, so it's a full circle experience from where I was when I just got out of a seven-year relationship," Beckham told Music Mayhem Magazine. "I was sitting in my house by myself, you know, drunk, writing that song. All the things I went through after that, leading up to Idol and getting into Idol, and then getting to release that song, and for it to do what it's doing right now is just more than my wildest dreams could ever have imagined, man."
• Beckham's songs typically originate from a guitar riff before he comes up with the lyrics. "Once I pick up the guitar and get a riff down that I really like, there'll be a point in time where the lyrics will kind of just come out," he explained to American Songwriter.
  
  "So I hang on to these guitar riffs in my head, and then keep on playing them until something pops up in my head," Beckham continued. "And then usually, from that point on, it's like a 15 minute process of just like spewing lyrics on a piece of paper."
  
  "23" was no exception to this musical alchemy.
• Ross Copperman produced the final version of "23" at SoundFactory Recording Studio in Hollywood, California. He also played the bass, drums and keyboards while Beckham and session musician Danny Rader played the guitar.
• The song maintained its popularity after its release and debuted at #71 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated January 13, 2024.