Jason Aldean
A Perfect Fit for Wrangler Retro™ Jeans
One of the hottest new stars in Country, platinum artist Jason Aldean was the ACM Top New Male Vocalist in 2006, headlined his 2008 CMT Tour and continues to top the Country Billboard charts in 2009 with his iconic songs, "She's Country" and "Big Green Tractor." Rooted in the tradition of great country artists before him, Jason brings his own personal style to high-energy songs with a hard-driving country rock beat and powerful lyrics. Like the Wrangler Retro Jeans he wears, Jason is hard working, cool and comfortable with who he is. Wrangler® is proud to have him on board as our exclusive celebrity spokesman for our new Wrangler Retro Jeans. Read more.
After selling two million copies of his first two albums, topping the charts with five smash hits, racking up award nominations and hitting every stop on the requisite "new artist" tour circuit for the last three years, country rocker Jason Aldean is running full throttle.
The Macon, Georgia native wrapped up 2008 on a high note. Aldean's debut of "She's Country," the first single off the forthcoming CD and now the fastest-rising single of his career to date, was introduced with a lights-out performance on the CMA Awards in November.
Upon hearing the lyrics and energy in the demo of "She's Country," Aldean knew it would be a great fit for his live show. "When we got in the studio and played it for the first time, it flew out of the speakers!" he exclaims. Written as a southern shout-out to all the country girls, the song champions the big guitars and solid backbeat that form the nucleus of Aldean's signature sound. It also gives fans a taste of what lies in store on the rest of the album.
As the title implies, Wide Open celebrates the unlimited opportunities life offers, while recognizing the all-too-familiar speed bumps along the way. "Wide Open is the only way I know how to live," explains Aldean. "I don't do anything half-ass, and you never have to guess on where I stand on things. I'm pretty much an open book. I understand there may be hitches along the way, but if I'm in, I'm in no matter what."
During the song-selection process for the album, Aldean's own experience of leaving his small hometown to follow big-city dreams is what drew him to several songs co-written by hit tunesmith Neil Thrasher.
"Neil came to the table with a lot of cool stuff, and I consider him to be a good friend, who really knows me, and one of the best writers in Nashville," says Aldean, who co-wrote "Keep the Girl" with Thrasher and Wendell Mobley. "Keep the Girl" offers a different spin on freedom and the price of chasing dreams. "When we were writing this song, I put myself in the frame of mind of when I was leaving Macon and moving to Nashville while dating my wife, so it's definitely autobiographical," recalls Aldean. "It's hard, because there's this one thing you love that you want to do, but if you do it, your jeopardizing something else you love, and it's like, 'Why can't I have both?'" In contrast to its title, "Fast" is a slow, bittersweet retrospective of a young man's transition from the life he once knew to one marked with uncertainty. "A lot of me is in this song," explains Aldean. "When I left home for Nashville, I left behind friends, family and the places where I grew up. Even though I was only five hours down the road, it felt like I was leaving and never coming back."
The modern, aggressive country sound of Wide Open, as well as Jason Aldean and Relentless, can be attributed both to producer Michael Knox and Aldean's touring band, who infuse Aldean's live sound into the studio recordings, melting the two into an unstoppable force his fans have come to recognize with the first note.
"I've worked with Michael Knox for 10 years. We're great friends and he has a real good idea of the kind of songs I like," Aldean says. "We took about a year to find all the songs and record them between gigs. We were able to keep the sound we created together consistent by using my live band in the studio. We almost read each other's minds."
With a calendar full of dates and a power-packed set anchored with hits and highlighted by new material, Aldean is ready to hit the road with superstars including Keith Urban and Toby Keith and live every day the only way conceivable - wide open!
