Am I the Jerk for Taking Back World Cup Tickets? | Tyler Kohrs Interview

Would you be the jerk for taking back World Cup tickets if your friend planned to sell them instead of going with you?

That's one of the cases we tackle in today's Am I the Jerk Court!

We also welcome this week's Country Climb Star of the Week, Tyler Kohrs, who shares his journey from growing up in a small Illinois town to appearing on NBC's The Voice, winning I Can See Your Voice, and chasing his dream of performing at the Grand Ole Opry. We also hear the story behind his latest single, "The Healing Side of Hurt" featuring Rebecca Howell.

Plus:
• Jineane Ford joins us with what's happening around the White Mountains.
• We give away Arizona Diamondbacks tickets.
• We celebrate Made in the USA Day with a fun American Invention or Not game.
• Timber Mesa Fire Marshal J.D. Pepper  calls in for the Fire Marshal Minute before the Fourth of July weekend.

Thanks for listening to The Morning Brew with Chris Bennett & Best Friends! If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, leave a review, and share it with a friend.

Be nice to yourself, be nice to others… and don't be a jerk!

Transcript

Small Town Icebreakers And Preview

SPEAKER_01 0:00

What's the most small town thing about you where you grew up? Uh we had bring your tractor the school day in high school. I don't know how much more redneck small town it can be in that.

SPEAKER_04 0:12

That is Tyler Kors today's Country Climb star of the week. Hello, best friends. It is me, Chris Bennett, and we've got a special Thursday edition of the morning brew for you because I will be out tomorrow for the 4th of July weekend. So we're packing a little Friday into today's show. Coming up, you'll hear our full Country Climb interview with Tyler Kors. We'll play his new song, The Healing Side of Hurt. We'll hold Am I the Jerk Court? Check in with Janine Ford to find out what's happening around the White Mountains, give away some Arizona Diamondback tickets, and play a fun made in America game and wrap things up with Fire Marshal Minute with JD Pepper from the Timber Mesa Fire Department. Thanks so much for listening. Let's get the show started. Chris Bennett's Country Climb, Star of the Week. And we got another great artist on our way from Ostenberg and the Playlisted podcast. This week we're joined by Nashville artist Tyler Kors. Born in South Korea and raised in a small Illinois town. Tyler's been chasing his country music dream ever since he picked up a guitar. Since moving to Nashville, he's performed at the legendary songwriter venues like the Bluebird Cafe and the Listing Room, appeared on season 20 of NBC's The Voice, and won Fox's I Can See Your Voice and is continuing to make a name for himself as both an artist and a songwriter. Today we're gonna get to know Tyler, hear the story behind his song, The Healing Side of Hurt, featuring Rebecca Howell, and find out what's next on his country journey. Please welcome Tyler Coors.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Well, hey y'all. Thanks for having me. Heck yeah!

SPEAKER_04 1:52

It's an honor to have you on. Before we get into your country climb, we like to have a little fun with some ice. Oh, I love them. Let's do it. Questions. Okay. Coffee or sweet tea? Sweet tea.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

I'll drink coffee. So sweet tea all the way. Cowboy boots or sneakers? Oh, cowboy boots, a hundred percent.

SPEAKER_04 2:13

And you grew up in a small town in Illinois. What's the most small town thing about you where you grew up?

SPEAKER_01 2:20

Uh, we had bring your tractor to school day. In high school. I don't know how much more redneck small town it can be in that. Um, but yeah, we had bring your tractor to school day and also bring your livestock to school day. So I think I think those are pretty uh small town-esque.

SPEAKER_04 2:40

I'd say so. And the hardest question I'll ask you all day if you had one country song to request for the rest of your life that wasn't yours at parties, events, radio, etc., what country song are you requesting and why?

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Oh, you know what? I'm I don't know if it'll really work at parties, but the one I would request for the rest of my life would be the one that really got me into country music, and that would be Don't Close Your Eyes by Keith Whitley.

SPEAKER_04 3:06

We had some fun with some rapid fire questions. Now it's time to find out about your country climb.

How Music First Took Hold

SPEAKER_04 3:12

Tyler, when when did music grab a hold of you and when did you start uh uh playing music?

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Yeah, so I grew up in such a small town. We didn't really have that much, like live music-wise. So for me, what really sparked me wanting to do music was when Kelly Clarkson won American Idol back in, I guess, 2002, and I just saw that being like, oh my gosh, that's what I want to do for the rest of my life. And then when season four happened with Carrie Underwood, she auditioned in St. Louis, Missouri, which was like 40 minutes from where I was from. So I was like, Oh, people like me can actually do this. So it's a career option. So I was like, everything from there, I was just like, I want to do music and I want to do country music.

SPEAKER_04 3:57

Yeah, how did what got you hooked on country music?

SPEAKER_01 4:01

The songwriting, honestly, even at such a young age, nothing could compare because they were such storytelling songs, and it just resonated with me in a way that no other genre of music could. And I think because also my grandparents had such a love of country music, they were country line dancers in their spare time, so I would go with them to all their like competitions and stuff, and I just I loved what was coming out of the radio and off of cassette tapes, and so yeah, I was a country music kid

The Voice Grind And Payoff

SPEAKER_01 4:34

right from the start.

SPEAKER_04 4:36

And uh you competed on the voice. Tell me a little bit, what was that experience like?

SPEAKER_01 4:43

My goodness. So I I just I have auditioned for so many of these shows. So by the time I got to season 20 of The Voice, I had auditioned over 83 times for The Voice and American Idol and all those shows. So when I got accepted to join season 20, we filmed during COVID. So that was another whole obstacle within itself, but we got to actually be in LA for that, which was so cool. But I loved my time there, I loved the camaraderie between all the contestants. I think that's the best thing because you always think for these shows it's such a competitive thing, at least that's what they kind of drive on television. But we got so close, and so there's like 90 of us out in LA just having the best time and getting to really four to five relationships that lasted past, you know, past being on the show, and so here I am now, six years later, which is shocking to me that it's been that long, and I still keep in touch with quite a bit of them, so I loved it.

SPEAKER_04 5:45

And then after that, you were on I Can See Your Voice and you won that. How how was that that experience?

SPEAKER_01 5:54

That experience was so much different, it was so it was just it was so random because I it it happened because I got asked to do American Idol because I and then I aged out of it, so then they like cut me and then they had me on this show, and it just was one of those things where I was like kind of feeling at that time where was I going in this industry? And when that show happened, it just gave me such a confidence boost, and because of that show, I got to also do it with Maddie and Tay um on that show, and we gotta sing together, and they've been so great to me even after the show. Um, and I just I mean, that experience right there for me was the highlight, but then being able to say I won the show, which was just nuts.

SPEAKER_04 6:43

That's

Bluebird Cafe Debut And Opry Goal

SPEAKER_04 6:44

right. You've done so many cool things in your career. You've performed at the Bluebird Cafe, the listening room, obviously, the the voice. I can see your voice. Um what would you say? And this is probably gonna be hard. What would you say is one of the biggest pinch me moments in your career so far with all the cool things you've done?

SPEAKER_01 7:04

That you know what? Making my bluebird cafe debut was a big one because I feel like that's such a milestone for not just artists, but songwriters, and especially in Nashville. And I gotta do it, and it's also because of how I got my listening room debut, but it was because of Emily Shackleton, who's an amazing songwriter who's written so many hits for Carly Pierce, and she's been one of the people that has really supported me from day one, and um because of her I got those opportunities, but um having a sold-out Bluebird Cafe show on my debut and having my parents there as well, which was huge because they all live around here, and just it was such a magical night that I still have never forgotten that one that debut time. So yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:54

And is there something in your career that you haven't accomplished yet that you have on your bucket list?

SPEAKER_01 8:00

Grand Ole Opera debut, and we've been working towards that specifically uh this past year. Um, and we're just working on hopefully it happens in 2026, and we're just making making all the waves that we can to make that happen. But the Grand Ole Opera's been my number one since day one when I was a kid. But I would love to be not only playing there often, but my goal one day is to be one of the first Asian members of the Grand Ole Opera.

Writing And Recording A Breakup Duet

SPEAKER_04 8:29

And it is now my favorite part of our Country Climb interview where we get to hear new music from an amazing artist. And Tyler, today we are going to play uh one of your new songs, The Healing Side of Hurt. Tell us a little bit about this song, how it came to be, uh, and uh the story behind it.

SPEAKER_01 8:47

So, my duet partner on this, her name is Rebecca Howe, and she was on season 16 of The Voice, and so we kind of met through like that reality show world. Um, but she played me this song a while ago, and I just I connected with it so much, and so I was just like, hey, what are you doing with the song? And she's like, Oh, I don't know yet. We haven't talked about it, but I was like, Can I play that show I have coming up just to see? And I played it at the show, and it had the biggest reaction to any song I've had since releasing music, and I was just like, There's something special with this, and then she saw how special it was because she was there too, and she was like, What if we made this a duet? And I was like, I'm here for that 1000%. So we started working in the studio with um, his name is Brandon Wiggers, and he is an amazing producer, but he's also a guitarist for uh Pam Tillis, and he just kind of made the magic happen in the studio. Um, but Rebecca really was the reason why I was able to get to do the song in the first place because she showed it to me before it was ever a thing, and um we put it out, and it just there's so many songs out there, but to me, this song it's for those people who aren't completely in the despair of a breakup, but they're also not fully healed, so they're in the process of that, so like they're in the healing side of that hurt. And to me, what I tell people when they ask me about it, I'm like, if you really love the song A Little Bit Stronger by Sarah Evans, this is kind of like the next chapter of that.

SPEAKER_04 10:30

I love that. Well, we're gonna listen to it, right? Has this been played on uh country radio in the States yet?

SPEAKER_01 10:37

So this is making its country radio debut here in the United States. Thanks to you, and I'm so grateful for that. So thank you so much.

SPEAKER_04 10:46

Uh, I can't wait. Well, this is Tyler Kors with Rebecca Howe, and this song is Healing Side of Hurt on Q Country 925.

Country Radio Debut And Big Feelings

SPEAKER_04 11:06

That was Tyler Kors and Rebecca Howe with their song Healing Side of Hurt. First time on American Country Radio today. Beautiful, beautiful song. How uh how did that feel to hear that on Country Radio?

SPEAKER_01 11:23

My goodness, uh my heart kind of stopped. Um man, I didn't think I'd get this emotional about it, but there's just something, especially being an independent artist and being played on country radio. It's just it's everything. And so thank you so, so much for this opportunity. My goodness be. And to have its debut with you, I'm just thank you so much.

SPEAKER_04 11:50

I love it. That song gave me goosebumps.

Songs To Start With And Where To Follow

SPEAKER_04 11:52

It was so beautiful. Your voice is amazing, Rebecca's amazing. And uh, for some of us that are just meeting uh Tyler Coors, what are two other songs you'd recommend they listen to of yours to get a little more taste of the Tyler Kors experience?

SPEAKER_01 12:10

Yeah, so the first one, it was the first single I put out after The Voice, and it's More Hearts Than Mine. That one's the one that kind of really introduced people to me, and it's what people still request from this day six years later, and it's really just done wonders for me as an artist. So that one, and then I have another duet that's out. I I have a trend where it's either I put sad songs out or duets. So um, this one is with a guy from the Netherlands, his name is Jopp Doris, and we have a song called Um How to Lose Someone, and that one really kind of opened doors for me as well at the point where I'm like, you know what, people, this is who I am as a songwriter, as an artist, and if you want to get to know me, those are two great songs to check out, and um, by other artists too that were a part of them. So, yeah, so those are the two.

SPEAKER_04 13:02

And where should uh people follow you if they want to follow uh your journey and support you?

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Yeah, um, everything is on social media nowadays. So, Tyler Kors Music, that's K-O-H-R-S. Um, I always tell people it sounds like the beard's just spelled different.

SPEAKER_04 13:20

Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 13:21

Well, Tyler, thank you so much for being today's Country Climb Star of the Week. Well, thank you so much. It's been an honor for being on this, so thank you for having me. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 13:30

This has been Tyler Kors, our Country Climb star of the week.

Fourth Of July In The White Mountains

SPEAKER_04 13:36

What's happening, hot stuff? Janine, you there? Yes, I am. Good morning, good morning. Good morning, good morning. It is our Friday today. Yay. And I thought we'd find out what's uh happening in the White Mountains. Uh, you want me to go first? Yes, go ahead. All right. Well, I'm so excited to get to host the City of Sholo's 4th of July parade. Uh it's uh celebrating America semi-quincentennial. That starts at 9 a.m. So uh a lot of people already have their seats reserved. That's gonna be a lot uh a lot of fun. It's gonna be a great time. That's at 9 o'clock. Then after that, 11 a.m., they are going to have the splash zone at Frontier Park starting at 11 a.m. So if you want to go with the kiddos and uh cool off, have some fun at the splash zone, you can do that. And then Freedom Fest from 3 to 9 p.m. with bands, food trucks, and fun zone at Sholo High School. That is from 3 to 9 p.m. And they will have fireworks weather permitting, Janine. It's gonna be a game time decision.

SPEAKER_03 14:37

Yeah, we have to be extra, extra careful. Stage two, red flag warning. So it's all about the wind, folks. So be patient. But we we it might be better not to have them, so they will make that decision.

SPEAKER_04 14:47

Yeah, whatever, whatever's in the best interest in our uh for our community and for our mountain. What else is happening?

SPEAKER_03 14:54

Oh, in every wonderful, beautiful small town um in the White Mountains. Oh my gosh, the Taylor rodeo. It's oh my oh my heck, it is phenomenal that rodeo is. You know, it's huge. People come from all over the state to go to that rodeo. And then also, and they have a parade too in Snowflake Taylor, and then you have I love to go to Round Valley. I mean, Heber Overguard is amazing too. They have all sorts of events, but the other thing too is round in Round Valley, oh my gosh, the little parade there, the Darling 4th of July parade. It's like your small town country, you know, um 4th of July parade. It's it's just a wonderful parade, and they have the Round Valley Rodeo too, the the uh Springerville and Eager rodeo out there, which is a great rodeo. So there's so much to do. I mean, it's everywhere. People are starting to have family reunions around the 4th of July, but this is our 250, and so it really extra, extra special, you know.

SPEAKER_04 15:50

It's gonna be a fun weekend and uh a lot of stuff happening in the White Mountains.

Am I The Jerk Court

SPEAKER_04 15:57

All right, so it is now time for am I the jerk court, the honorable Janine Ford presides. You ready, best friend? Yes. All right, here we go. I recently won a contest that included two tickets to the Portugal vs. Croatia World Cup match. Since it came as a pair, I invited a family member to come with me. I never asked them to pay for the ticket because, well, I won it. Now that ticket prices have gone up a lot, they're saying they want to sell their ticket instead of going to the game with me. The thing is, I didn't win one ticket and they won the other. I won a pair and I invited them because I wanted us to experience the match together. If I had known they were just gonna try and make money off it, I probably would have invited someone else. They think that because I gave them the ticket, it's theirs to do whatever they want with. I think it's pretty dis disrespectful to profit from something that was meant to be a shared experience. Am I the jerk for expecting my family member to actually use the ticket I gave them instead of selling it? What say you?

SPEAKER_03 17:07

Oh my gosh, you're not the jerk. That person is such a jerk. And and this goes to he, I I hope he's holding the tickets. If he has the tickets in his hands, but if he sent it to them, I would just say, sorry, gosh, sorry you don't want to go. I can take somebody else. You know, yeah. I mean, it's absolutely rude to give somebody something and they're selling it on eBay or something. You know what I mean? That's just it's just awful.

SPEAKER_04 17:30

That is so rude, and they invited them to go to the game with them, and then they're basically saying, No, I'm not gonna go with you, you go by yourself.

SPEAKER_03 17:38

You go by yourself, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 17:39

So rude, and it's not your ticket to sell.

SPEAKER_03 17:42

No.

SPEAKER_04 17:42

No, no, it was the yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:44

So I hope I I I didn't catch if he's holding that, physically holding the ticket or he said it to them.

SPEAKER_04 17:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:50

Because if he's physically holding the ticket, I would just say, you know, hey, I'm sorry, I'll just find somebody else that wants to go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:56

You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, you are not the jerk. That person is the biggest jerk I think we've ever encountered.

SPEAKER_03 18:02

If they sell the ticket and that kind of thing, I would never, ever, ever invite them and I wouldn't be going with them, you know. See him, I mean, be kind, be nice, but you I wouldn't do that again.

SPEAKER_04 18:12

Yeah, and if anybody's allowed to sell the tickets, it's the person who won it. Yeah. But yeah, you it's like, do you want to go to the game with me? Give me the ticket. I'm gonna sell it. Yeah. And you're gonna sit next to a random stranger.

SPEAKER_02 18:23

Exactly. Exactly. We're not gonna go and have a good time together now.

SPEAKER_04 18:27

Yeah. Well, in uh the case of Am I the Jerk for expecting my family family member to actually use the ticket, I gave them instead of selling it. Janine Ford rules, not the jerk. Thank you, best friend.

SPEAKER_03 18:39

Yeah, you are welcome. You guys have a great day.

SPEAKER_04 18:42

Have a great day. Have a happy 4th of July.

SPEAKER_03 18:44

Happy Fourth of July. Love you all. Love you.

SPEAKER_04 18:46

See you Monday. Bye.

Diamondbacks Winner And Made In America

SPEAKER_03 18:51

Hello.

SPEAKER_04 18:52

Shania! This is Chris Bennett with Q Country 925's The Morning Brew. And the Wheel of Name picked your name for four tickets to the Diamondbacks this Sunday against the Brewers. What do you think of that? Yeah, that's awesome. Heck yeah. Are you gonna be rooting for the Diamondbacks or the Brewers? Of course, the Diamondback. Heck yeah, I love it. Awesome. Well, uh, will you play a fun little game uh with me before I give you these tickets?

SPEAKER_01 19:20

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 19:21

All right, today is Made in America Day. And so in honor of uh 4th of July, a Made in America Day, I thought we would do American invention or not. Let me know if you think this was an American invention or not. Fortune cookies. American or not?

SPEAKER_01 19:36

Ooh, not.

SPEAKER_04 19:38

Oh, it is actually created in California, although inspired by Japanese crackers, but it is an American invention. Pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 19:47

That's crazy. That is cool.

SPEAKER_04 19:50

Uh, how about uh the super soaker?

SPEAKER_01 19:53

Ooh, probably American. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 19:58

Invented by NASA engineer Lonnie Johnson. Uh, how about French fries?

SPEAKER_01 20:04

America.

SPEAKER_04 20:05

No, Belgium. No, yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, and a last one, the microwave oven.

SPEAKER_01 20:14

Oh, probably.

SPEAKER_04 20:15

Yes. Americans like things hot and fast. The microwave oven was invented in America after Percy Spencer noticed a chocolate bar melting in his pocket. Uh, well, congratulations, best friend. You got four tickets to the Diamondbacks this Sunday. What station hooked you up? 92.5. You know it. Good

Stage Two Fire Restrictions Warning

SPEAKER_04 20:40

morning. It's the morning brew with Chris. Who's this? Hey, Chris, good morning. It's JD. JD Pepper. All right. We got our Fire Marshal with Timber Mesa Fire Department. Do you have a Fire Marshal minute for us today?

SPEAKER_00 20:53

I sure do, brother. Hey, man. Uh, obviously, big weekend up here on the mound. We're gonna we're gonna at least double it in size in our and our uh population, right? Uh no rain in the forecast right now for this weekend. We are in stage two. That means no fires. I don't want to come out and be writing citations to folks out there. Please, please, please, don't have any fires. They are just not allowed. Fireworks, not allowed. The police department and the sheriff's office can be out there patrolling looking for this stuff. We are not going to burn this mountain down. Make sure you are following the rules, following the laws. Let's not have any fires out there, folks. Uh, if you have any uh questions, you want to call, you can call 537-5100. You can ask uh someone there at the fire department, at the uh I'm sorry, at the fire district uh headquarters, or you can get online, Natalie County Emergency Management, TimbermesaFire.org, City of Show, all everybody, we're all sharing the same message. No fires, period.

SPEAKER_04 22:00

No fires, period. Thank you so much for everything all our firefighters do and the Timber Mesa Fire Department do to keep us safe. And let's do our part to keep this mountain safe, best friend. Thank you so much for everything you guys do. Thank you guys. Have a wonderful Independence Day weekend. And if we see someone uh breaking stage two fire restrictions, what number should we call? Call 911. 911. All right. Let's keep our mountain safe. Have a great 4th of July, best friend.

SPEAKER_00 22:28

All right, you guys too. Love y'all. Bye-bye. Love you. Bye-bye.

Parade Livestream Plug And Sign-Off

SPEAKER_04 22:31

All right, best friends. That's gonna do it for another episode of the Morning Brew with Chris Bennett and Best Friends. A big thank you to Tyler Kors for being this week's Country Climb star of the week. And thanks to Sean Burke and Austin Burke and the playlisted podcast for continuing to introduce us to incredible up-and-coming country artists. We'll be off tomorrow for the Fourth of July weekend. But if you're celebrating in Sholo, I'd love to see you at the parade on Saturday. I'll be hosting the City of Sholo's Fourth of July Parade livestream. So if you can't make it in person, you can watch it live on the City of Sholo's Facebook or YouTube page. Wherever you're celebrating, I hope you have a safe, fun, and happy Fourth of July. And don't forget, we are under stage two fire restrictions here in the White Mountains. So please do your part to help keep our beautiful White Mountains safe. If you enjoyed today's episode, please follow the podcast, leave us a review, and share it with a friend. It really helps us grow and lets more best friends find the show. Until next time, I'm Chris Bennett, reminding you to be nice to yourself, be nice to others, and don't be jerk.