Jake Owen was one of the very first country artists I interviewed. In 2009, I headed to Nashville for the first time with two friends for CMA Fest and I instantly fell in love with country music. We wound up chatting with Jake on his bus shortly before his debut performance on the main stage at LP Field. He was super honest about the songs he wrote and why he loves living in Nashville. Little did I know, after that trip I’d be dreaming of moving to Nashville.
This time around, I talked with Jake about why it’s so important to cut outside songs and how it changed his career. We also discussed why he chose to mirror his first major headlining tour this year to where he began performing at The Riverside Cafe in Florida, complete with palm trees and Tiki bars.
“There’s a lot of people out there that didn’t live a life like I did growing up. I realized that’s what separates me from other people,” he explained. “You have to embrace the things that make you different but also embrace the things that make you unique to who you truly are. That’s why I was really adamant of making our show on the road look and feel like you’re back home in Florida with me when you come see my show. A show should be something that takes you somewhere in a place.”
His new single is “What We Ain’t Got,” a song written by Travis Meadows and Travis Jerome Goff. Jake explained that when he picks an outside song it has to do something to him.
“It has to live in my ear and continually tickle it. What I mean by that is continually make me want to listen to it again. Or, it has to have some sort of deep meaning on it and it’s easier for me to sing songs like that,” he said. “A great career comes from great songs. That’s why guys like George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, they all recorded outside songs. Once I started recording the outside songs it really helped change my life. Whether I wrote it or didn’t write it, the best song should be the song that makes the album.”
Read more of my interview with Jake Owen at Radio.com. Watch my very first interview with Jake from 2009 below.