Jason Aldean

Jason Aldine Williams (born February 28, 1977), known professionally as Jason Aldean, is an American country music singer.

Jason Aldine Williams was born in Macon, Georgia, on February 28, 1977.

His parents separated when he was three.

He was raised by his mother in Macon, and during the summer he spent time with his father in Homestead, Florida.

He attended Windsor Academy, a private Christian school in Bibb County, Georgia.

Before his father went to his work, Aldean would map out guitar Chords on notebook paper to show his son where to place his fingers to play the Chords and Jason would sit and practice all day while his father was at work.

When his father got home, he got out his own guitar and they played together.

Soon he could play a song after hearing it only a few times.

His early favorites included George Strait's "The Cowboy Rides Away", Hank Williams Jr.'s "The Blues Man", and Alabama's "My Home's in Alabama".

Both of his parents encouraged young Aldean as he progressed musically.

From age 14, after watching the country-music awards on television, he wanted to perform on stage.

With his mother's help, he performed at the local VFW hall in Macon.

He sang John Anderson's song "Seminole Wind" and Tracy Lawrence's "Sticks and Stones".

He then began performing at area talent contests and local fairs.

At 15, he joined the "house band" at Georgia nightspot Nashville South.

In order to stand out, Aldean changed the spelling of his middle name, Aldine, to come up with the name Aldean.

After high school, with his father's help, Aldean and his band performed at clubs and festivals around the Southeast.

With Justin Weaver (one of the band's members), Aldean began writing and recording original songs.

In 1998, he performed songs from his first album at a showcase staged by Atlanta nightclub The Buckboard.

He was approached by Michael Knox, then of the Warner-Chappell song-publishing company.

After signing with Warner-Chappell, Aldean moved to Nashville on November 1, 1998, at the age of 21.

Aldean was offered a recording contract but was subsequently dropped.

He signed with another label but again was dropped in 2000 after his label postponed his recording sessions repeatedly.

Various showcases failed to bring him a contract.

The last straw was an attempt at the Wildhorse Saloon where the promised label talent scouts never showed up.

Frustrated and discouraged with his struggling career, Aldean gave himself six months before planning to leave Nashville and return home to Georgia.

Then five weeks later, he was offered a deal from Broken Bow Records in Nashville.

Shortly after the release of his self-titled debut album, Aldean picked up his new (and current) agent Kevin Neal.

While recording Relentless, Aldean moved to Clarence Spalding and Spalding Entertainment for management.

Since 2005, he has been signed to Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released eleven albums and 40 singles.

Aldean's debut single, "Hicktown", was released in early 2005.

It served as the lead-off to his self-titled debut album and reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

The album contained his first number one hit with "Why".

His 2010 album, My Kinda Party, is certified quadruple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

His 2012 album Night Train is certified double-platinum, while his 2005 self-titled debut, 2007 album Relentless, 2009 album Wide Open, and 2014 album Old Boots, New Dirt are all certified platinum.

Aldean has received five Grammy Award nominations throughout his career, twice for Best Country Album.

27 of Aldean's 38 singles have reached #1 on either the Hot Country Songs or Country Airplay charts with "Why", "She's Country", "Big Green Tractor", "The Truth", "Don't You Wanna Stay" (a duet with Kelly Clarkson), "Dirt Road Anthem", "Fly Over States", "Take a Little Ride", "The Only Way I Know" (a collaboration with Luke Bryan and Eric Church), "Night Train", "When She Says Baby", "Burnin' It Down", "Just Gettin' Started", "Tonight Looks Good on You", "Lights Come On", "A Little More Summertime", "Any Ol' Barstool", "You Make It Easy", "Drowns the Whiskey" (a duet with Miranda Lambert), "Girl Like You", "Rearview Town", "Got What I Got", "Blame It on You", "If I Didn't Love You" (a duet with Carrie Underwood), and "Trouble with a Heartbreak".

In 2023, he released "Try That in a Small Town", which was the subject of widespread media attention.

Its music video was criticized for invoking imagery related to the 2020 George Floyd protests and for including clips filmed in front of the Maury County courthouse, the site of a 1946 race riot and a 1927 lynching of a Black man.

The song became Aldean's first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100.