Jordan Davis was in bleary-eyed celebration mode last week when he called American Songwriter to talk about his eighth consecutive No. 1 hit “I Ain’t Sayin,’” his new song “In Case You Missed It,” and their family’s new baby, due this summer. However, his three kids weren’t feeling as festive.
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“I had all three of them this morning, and it was meltdown morning,” Davis good-naturedly explained.
Davis and his wife, Kristen, got married in 2018. The couple is expecting the fourth baby Davis to arrive in June.
Davis has joked about his growing family, encouraging fans to stream his music to help pay for diapers. But, with the way his career is trending, Davis should be able to buy a diaper factory if he chooses in the next couple of years. In addition to topping the US charts, “I Ain’t Sayin’” was also No. 1 on the UK charts for eight weeks, enough to set a record on the UK Country Radio Airplay Charts.
“Building that UK fan base was a big goal early on, and being able to go all over the world,” Davis said. “To think that they would embrace my music the way they have for as long as they have, it’s been really a cool thing to see.”
Jordan Davis Talks Eighth No. 1 Hit
Setting the record was humbling for Davis, and he called it a testament to the incredible fanbase he has in England. The Louisiana native depends on his team to help keep his music fresh and his career growing. The singer hopes to evolve with every music release. He tries to keep connection at the core of his craft.
“I think every writer sits down and strives for universal connection, no matter how personal the song,” Davis said. “I think at the end of it, you still want to be able to play it, put it out into the world, have people listen to it and find their connection to it.”
Releasing ‘I Ain’t Sayin’ was a huge step for Davis because it’s the first single he didn’t write. But, there was something about the song that “grabbed him.” He thought that if it could impact him that way, it might do the same thing to people worldwide.
“It’s tough to put a song out you didn’t write, especially me, who writes all my own hits,” Davis said. “I pride myself in that. I was proud for setting my songwriting ego aside.”
Jordan Davis Struggled to Release Song He Didn’t Write
Travis Wood, Steve Moakler, Mark Holman, and Emily Reid wrote “I Ain’t Sayin.’” The song is from Davis’ forthcoming album – the follow-up to Bluebird Days. The song scratched a creative itch for Davis that he’d been reaching for for a long time. He wanted something that leaned into his early hits like “Singles You Up.” He feels like his songs like “Next Thing You Know” and “Buy Dirt” were far from the musical feel on which he launched his career. Davis wanted to return to the sound that won him his fan base. And try as he might to write a song that did that himself, he didn’t like any of his as much as he liked “I Ain’t Sayin.’”
“It was, ‘I need to quit trying to write that song and realize that I have it right here,” he said.
Davis’ new album will likely be available later this year. He wants to avoid calling it his favorite piece of work he’s ever done because he thinks every new album should be that. The singer wants to keep growing as a songwriter and thinks he will the longer he works on the craft.
New Album Reflects Influences
The upcoming album embraces Davis’ longtime influences, including The Allman Brothers, Jim Croce, and other rootsy, soul-sounding artists. He’s always highlighted those artists, but when he listens back to his albums, he’s not sure he hears much of their influence in his work.
“Obviously, songwriting is something that all of those influences were incredible at,” Davis said. “But where was the musical side of those influences showing up? I really kind of wanted to hone in on that on this album. I really think we did that. I’m really proud of how it all came together.”
Photo: Harper Smith / Courtesy of Red Light Management
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