Joshua Ryan "Jake" Owen
(born August 28, 1981 in Vero Beach, Florida [1]) is a Grammy-Award nominated American country music artist. Signed to RCA Records Nashville in 2005, Owen released his debut album Startin' with Me
that year. This album produced three singles ("Yee Haw", "Startin' with Me" and "Something About a Woman"), all of which reached Top 20 on the Billboard
Hot Country Songs charts. A second album, 2009's Easy Does It
, has accounted for two more singles in the #2 "Don't Think I Can't Love You" and "Eight Second Ride." Owen has also toured as an opening act for several country acts, including Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Little Big Town and Sugarland.
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Biography
Joshua Ryan Owen and his
fraternal twin brother Jarrod were born in
Vero Beach, Florida on August 28, 1981.
[2] Both brothers regularly participated in a variety of sports. Jake eventually took up
golf,and began pursuing a career as a professional golfer, winning his first golf tournament at age fifteen.
After graduating high school, both Owen brothers attended
Florida State University, A
waterskiing accident which resulted in
reconstructive surgery left him unable to continue playing the sport.
[3]
While recovering from his injuries, he borrowed a neighbor's guitar and began to teach himself how to play it. After seeing a guitarist performing at a campus bar, Owen asked the bar's owner if he could play a gig there. Eventually, Owen became a regular at the bar, and soon took up writing his own material as well.
He then moved to
Nashville, Tennessee, making his first stop at a bank to open a savings account there; after telling the bank teller that he was a singer and songwriter, the teller then asked if he had any recordings available.
Owen gave her a
CD of his songs, which she sent to the
Warner/Chappell Music publishing company.
Musical career
Although Warner/Chappell did not sign him to a contract, Owen eventually met record producer and songwriter Jimmy Ritchey. They, along with songwriter Chuck Jones, wrote a song entitled "Ghosts", which they had intended for
Kenny Chesney to record. Chesney, ultimately, did not record "Ghosts", although the song drew the attention of
Sony BMG Nashville executives, who signed him to their
RCA Records label in 2005.
Per their suggestion, Owen also changed his first name to Jake, so as to avoid confusion with
Josh Turner and
Josh Gracin.
Startin' with Me
In early 2006, Owen released his debut single, entitled "
Yee Haw". Owen describes the song (an up-tempo party anthem in which the narrator expresses his enjoyment with a cry of "yee haw") as being written "to make people have a good time."
[4] This song, which peaked at #16 on the
Billboard
Hot Country Songs charts, served as the lead-off single to his debut album,
Startin' with Me
.
Released on July 25, 2006, the album featured 11 tracks, all co-written by Owen and his producer. Among these were Owen's own recording of "Ghosts", as well as a duet with
Randy Owen (formerly the lead singer of the band
Alabama) entitled "You Can Thank Dixie". (Jake Owen and Randy Owen are not related.
[5]) After the album's release, Jake Owen was signed as an opening act for acts such as
Brad Paisley and
Carrie Underwood on their tours.
[6]
The album's
title track, a ballad in which the narrator expresses his desires to change everything in his life (starting with himself), was released as Owen's second single. Spending more than thirty-five weeks on the
Billboard
country charts, "Startin' with Me" became Owen's first Top ten hit, reaching a peak of #6.
Also in 2007, he went on tour with
Alan Jackson and
Brooks & Dunn.
"
Something About a Woman" was released in late 2007 as the third single from Owen's album. In September 2007, he and country quartet
Little Big Town joined country duo
Sugarland's tour.
[7] During this tour, the three acts began performing "
Life in a Northern Town" (a cover of British pop group
The Dream Academy's hit single from 1984) together. A
music video of their live performance was aired on the network
CMT. In April 2008, a recording of this performance entered the
Billboard
country charts based on unsolicited airplay.
Easy Does It
Owen released his second studio album,
Easy Does It
, on February 24, 2009. The album debuted at #2 on the
Billboard
Top Country Albums and #13 on the
Billboard
200. The lead-off single to the album, "
Don't Think I Can't Love You" became his first Top 5 country hit, reaching #2 on the
Hot Country Songs chart in April 2009. "Eight Second Ride", a song which was originally on
Startin' with Me
and newly recorded for
Easy Does It
, is the album's second single. The song debuted at #57 on the Hot Country Songs chart in June 2009.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year
| Album details
| Chart Positions
|
| US Country
| US
|
| 2006
| Startin' with Me
- Released: July 25, 2006
- Label: RCA Nashville
| 8
| 31
|
| 2009
| Easy Does It
- Released: February 24, 2009
- Label: RCA Nashville
| 2
| 13
|
Singles
| Year
| Single
| Peak chart positions
| Album
|
| US Country
| US
| CAN Country
|
| 2006
| "Yee Haw"
| 16
| 83
| —
| Startin' with Me
|
| "Startin' with Me"
| 6
| 83
| 28
|
| 2007
| "Something About a Woman"
| 15
| 104
| 48
|
| 2008
| "Don't Think I Can't Love You"
| 2
| 57
| 40
| Easy Does It
|
| 2009
| "Eight Second Ride"A
| 35
|
|
|
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart
|
Other charted songs
| Year
| Single
| Peak chart positions
| Album
|
| US Country
| US
| CAN Country
| CAN
|
| 2008
| "Life in a Northern Town"
(with Sugarland and Little Big Town)
| 28
| 43
| 30
| 53
| Love on the Inside
(Sugarland album)
|
Music videos
| Year
| Video
| Director
|
| 2006
| "Yee Haw"
| Wes Edwards
|
| 2007
| "Startin' with Me"
| Shaun Silva
|
| 2008
| "Life in a Northern Town"
(with Sugarland and Little Big Town)
| Becky Fluke
|
| "Don't Think I Can't Love You"
| David McClister
|
| 2009
| "Eight Second Ride"
| Deaton-Flanigen Productions
|
Awards
- 2009 ACM Top New Male Vocalist
References
- Country music star comes home to Vero Beach
- Jake Owen biography
- Jake Owen biography
- Jake Owen Gets a Boost From "Startin' with Me"
- Jake Owen biography
- Jake Owen scores first Top 10 single
- Little Big Town Is Ready to Roll With Sugarland