Counting Sleeps — MCA One-Sheet

Pre-ProPre-Production SheetDemo Direction TBD

Sheet header

Key

Db Major

BPM

6/8 - see note

Time Sig

6/8

Artist

Kris Bradley

Co-written with

Mitch Townley

Status

Demo Direction TBD

Core Concept

"Getting through one more day's all I need."

The universal ache of waiting for someone you love to come home. The house feels too big, the clock sits on its hands, and you fill the hours with junk drawers and polished floors just to make time move. It's a simple, honest love song about the particular loneliness of missing someone who's coming back — which somehow makes the waiting harder, not easier.

Emotional Arc

Opens quietly — 8:05, coffee without them, the house suddenly enormous. The pre-chorus captures the push and pull of wanting time to run. The chorus lands the central image: counting sleeps like the days before Christmas, wishing hours were minutes. Verse 2 is the restless productivity of someone who can't sit still with the waiting. The bridge is tender and still — a welcome home kiss wide awake on these lips.

Thematic Language

Counting sleeps like the days before Christmas

The house too big whenever you go away

Pushing sand fast through the glass

The clock sitting on its hands

A welcome home kiss wide awake on these lips

Sonic Palette

Overall Vibe

Acoustic, unplugged, intimate. Simple and warm. Nothing overproduced. Everything in service of the lyric and vocal.

Christmas Feel

Light touch only. A hint of the season — not a holiday song. Should be promotable any time of year. The Christmas reference is in the lyric, not the production. Think suggestion, not costume.

Instrumentation

Acoustic Guitar

Upright Bass

Strings (opt.)

Cello (opt.)

French Horn (opt.)

Violin Plucks

Light Rhodes

Soft Chimes

Keep everything sparse and simple. The chimes are the lightest nod to the season — present but not dominant. French horns and strings should feel warm and understated, not cinematic. This song breathes.

References

Kacey Musgraves — Fine (vibe only)

Release Strategy Note

Potential Soft Christmas Release

      Considering a soft release between hard singles around Christmas — timing dependent on how lead singles are performing. The song is not a Christmas song and should not be produced as one. The Christmas reference in the chorus is a metaphor for anticipation, not a holiday marker. It should feel promotable year-round.

Easter Egg

Chorus — "Take all the sand and push it fast through the glass"

Echoes "the sands in the glass were filling up fast" in Gift of Goodbye. Both songs share the same hourglass image — but in completely different emotional contexts. Counting Sleeps is about wanting time to move faster toward someone you love. Gift of Goodbye is about time running out on a life that no longer fits. Same image, opposite feelings.

Music Video / Visualizer

Concept TBD

Open Questions

Release timing — Christmas window or standard single cycle?

How light is the chime / seasonal element — confirm in session

French horn and string arrangement — live or programmed?

Music video or visualizer direction TBD

MarketingMarketing Plan14 buckets · how it reaches people

Positioning & release

Song Sheet - Disc Two / Soft Drop / Dec 19, 2026

Disc TwoSoft DropLove SongDec 19, 2026

This page is scaffolded and ready. Buckets fill in as KB brain-dumps the song. Structure matches every other song sheet so nothing has to be redesigned later.

📖 Story

Layer 3 — The Public Story Fan-facing

Fan hook. If you've ever missed someone so much the house started feeling too big — this song is for you.

You know that thing kids do, where they count down how many sleeps until Christmas?

I started doing it as an adult.

When my person leaves for a few days, the house turns on me a little. It gets too quiet. Too big. The coffee mug they always use just sits there in the cabinet, and somehow that's the thing that gets me. I'll walk past their side of the bed and feel like the room is missing furniture.

I noticed I'd started measuring time a different way. Not in hours or work days. In sleeps. Three more sleeps. Two more sleeps. Tomorrow when I wake up, you'll be back.

It's a soft feeling. A small one. Almost embarrassing to admit, because we're supposed to be grown about this kind of thing. But love does this. It rearranges your sense of time. It turns ordinary days into a countdown.

This song is for the countdown.

"Love rearranges your sense of time. It turns ordinary days into a countdown."

Layer 1 — Bullet Framework Internal anchors

Story Bullet Points (memory anchors)

being deeply in love with someone
time feels different when they’re gone
the house suddenly feels too big and too quiet
little everyday things remind you they’re not there
counting down the days until they’re back
phrase: “counting sleeps” (how kids measure time)
inspiration for the song

Story Angle

The sweet, slightly vulnerable feeling of missing someone so much that you start counting the days—like a kid waiting for Christmas.

Core Theme

Love turns time into something you measure emotionally.

Helpful Image to Use

Your empty house image is perfect.

Examples you can reference:

their side of the bed

their coffee mug

the quiet in the house

the space they normally fill

Just one detail is enough.

Suggested Story Flow

Being deeply in love
They leave for a while
The house suddenly feels empty
Counting the days until they return

Short Version (15–20 sec)

“You ever miss someone so much that time starts feeling different? Like every day you’re just counting down until you see them again. I started joking that I was ‘counting sleeps’—like kids do when they’re waiting for Christmas. This song came from that feeling.”

Slightly Longer Version (35 sec)

“You know when you’re really in love with someone and they leave for a few days, and suddenly the house feels twice as big and way too quiet? I started noticing that every night I was just counting the days until they came back. Like when kids count how many sleeps until Christmas. And that’s where this song came from.”

Why This Story Works

It gives the audience:

a romantic moment

emotional contrast with the heavier songs

something universally relatable

It also softens the set before moving into deeper themes again.

Performance Tip

Deliver this story gentle and calm.

It should feel like a quiet moment in the show.

Layer 2 — Performance Scripts Short · long · stage banter

Transition Line Options

Simple

“This song is called Counting Sleeps.”

Warm

“It’s about missing someone in the sweetest way.”

Light

“Turns out adults count sleeps too.”

🎵 Lyrics

Written by Kris Bradley & Mitch Townley · © Boomfox Productions

Verse 1It's 8:05
One more rise and shine
Coffee without you today
I notice how big
This house really is
Whenever you go awayPre-ChorusTime's standing still
But I wish it would run
So baby until you come homeChorusI'm counting sleeps
Like the days before Christmas
Wishing hours were minutes
For me
And that I could take all the sand
And push it fast through the glass
Getting through one more day's all I need
So I'm counting sleepsVerse 2I cleaned out the junk drawer
Polished the floors
Found all of our missing socks
Trying to pass by the time
As quickly as I
Can do till you're back in my armsPre-ChorusThe clock sits on its hands
With that look on its face
Driving me mad
While I wait

😤 Pain Points

Pain points list to be added.

🎣 Hooks & Opening Lines

Hooks and opening lines to be added.

🪞 Nobody Wants to Hear Series

Song-specific versions to be added.

📱 POV Series

POV lines to be added.

🎬 Content Formats & Video Ideas

Video concepts to be added.

🔗 Stitch Targets & Seed Videos

Seed videos, creator targets, and hashtag bank to be added.

📝 Captions

Captions list to be added.

📅 Pre & Post Release Checklist

Populate from the Six-Week Cycle template on the Strategy page.

🎥 Music Video

Music video concept to be added.

💿 Sync & Licensing

Sync and licensing notes to be added.

📰 Press & Outreach

Pitch angles, target outlets, and outreach status to be added.

🪧 Billboard - One Per Song

Confirmed: every single in the campaign gets its own billboard. Not a phase-4 or cash-flow-permitting extra — a locked part of each release.
Billboard copy: To add — write this song's billboard line here.

↑ Back to Dashboard

LyricsLyrics3:52

Written by Kris Bradley & Mitch Townley · © Boomfox Productions

Verse 1

It's 8:05
One more rise and shine
Coffee without you today
I notice how big
This house really is
Whenever you go away

Pre-Chorus

Time's standing still
But I wish it would run
So baby until you come home

Chorus

I'm counting sleeps
Like the days before Christmas
Wishing hours were minutes
For me
And that I could take all the sand
And push it fast through the glass
Getting through one more day's all I need
So I'm counting sleeps

Verse 2

I cleaned out the junk drawer
Polished the floors
Found all of our missing socks
Trying to pass by the time
As quickly as I
Can do till you're back in my arms

Pre-Chorus

The clock sits on its hands
With that look on its face
Driving me mad
While I wait

AdminRegistration & RightsISRC · BMI · UPC · credits

Registration

ISRC

QTA6R2600024

Key

Db Major

BPM

6/8 - see note

ISRC source

Boomfox prefix

UPC (album)

To be assigned

BMI work registration

In review

Publisher

Kris Bradley Music (BMI)
IPI 00821161184

Writer account (BMI)

KAMAI BRADLEY KRISTI LEAH K (550220798)

Writers

Kris Bradley, Mitch Townley

Duration

3:52

Master format

44.1k/16

Time signature

4/4

Recording year

2026

Release status

Unreleased

Label

Boomfox Productions LLC

Producers

Kris Bradley, Eric Torres, Blue Foley

Mix

Eric Torres

Mastering

Sam Moses

Where the files live

Master WAV: MCA Masters - Sept 8 (Google Drive)
ISRC allocation: MCA ISRC Master List (Drive, Admin folder)
Credits: Album Credits sheet (Drive)
BMI: applications.bmi.com, account KAMAI BRADLEY KRISTI LEAH K (550220798)