Austin Michael Robinson recording

Mary Jane Farmer | May 11, 2019

Story and photos by Mary Jane Farmer — and stay tuned for an update when it’s OK to let everyone know what else is going on!

Austin Michael Robinson has not been idle since his time on TV’s American Idol ended. In fact, the Van Alstyne teenager

Austin Michael rides one of his horses during a video recording session this week at the family acreage in Westminster. The horse did well, without getting riled up at all, notwithstanding all the strangers and equipment surrounding him.

and his family have been quite busy on career-enhancing projects for the aspiring country artist.

He, along with Colton Gilbreath and Chris Romain wrote a song, “Country Cred,” he recorded it, followed by scripting and filming a video based on “Country Cred” lyrics.

When Austin Michael, 16, played an afternoon show recently at Tener’s Western Outfitters in Sherman, two of the people he met were Chris Romain and Tony Giarraputo, who had only a few weeks earlier opened their new recording studio, Split Window Studios, in Sherman. Austin and his mom and dad, Summer and Sheldon Robinson, checked the studios out, liked what they learned, and solidified that business relationship.

Austin Michael, now a recording artist, fans the campfire flame with his hat, supplied by Tener’s Western Outfitters, during a video shoot at the family property this week.

Austin, he admits, is not a full-fledged songwriter, yet, but got his feet wet when he worked on the new song with music industry veterans Romain and Gilbreath. When on American Idol, the panel of judges (Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan) questioned the teenager about just how country was he, really. He explained it, saying the family had horses and other livestock, then showed them his skills not only in music, but also in using his lasso.

And that’s what he’s singing about in this new song—being country to the core.

Split Window Studios‘ Chris Romain and others video Austin Michael during scene of the video being produced of Austin Michael’s new song, “Country Cred.”

The Split Window Studios team strives to make the entire recording process as painless, as productive, and as much fun as possible, Romain said earlier, and for that they found the studio musicians that were the best fit for this song. That included Jake Cox on B3 organ, Gilbreath on guitar, Milo Deering on fiddle, and Nathan Brown on drums. That project is now in the process of being mastered, which is the final step of audio post-production, and balances the elements of a stereo mix to optimize playback across all systems and media formats — essential in these days of advanced technology.

Then came the video production. Again, it was Split Window Studios coordinating this—pleasant—work. They hired the film crew and spent last week documenting the country side of life at Lake Texoma. This week, they went to the Robinsons’ acreage in Westminster to take advantage of its lake, horses, and dirt bike trails—

Film crew members at the recent video shoot for “Country Cred.”

everything country that it offers, which is just about everything country can offer up.

Since his time on American Idol, too, Austin has been inundated with country apparel. Tener’s gave him a summertime straw cowboy hat, Wrangler supplied him with numerous jeans and shirts, Justin provided him with new boots, and BEX with sunglasses. And he sports them all in the video.

The friends his age at the video shoot were just that, friends his age, and willing to ride a few dirt bikes for the shoot. All through the day, his sisters, Trinity and Destiny, helped as they could; and when they couldn’t be of help, they took off on a dirt bike or a horse. Country runs in the family.

Giarraputo said their deadline for 100 percent completion of these two separate-but-related projects is May 16. And that’s when they’ll start the radio-promotion portion of the entire recording process. And, as the real country folks say, “This ain’t their first rodeo,” either. Split Window Studios drew from

Austin Michael herding cattle, one scene of the upcoming video for “Country Cred”.

their video shooting expertise a month earlier to complete one for Cole Ferguson, another North Texas country artist. And if it all goes as planned, fans can start calling their favorite country radio stations by June 1 and asking to hear “Country Cred.”

And Summer and Sheldon Robinson? Well, there’s no holding them back, no matter if it’s this project or one of their other children’s. They tackle each dream, each opportunity with equal determination and drive.