Jason Aldine Williams (born February 28, 1977 in Macon, Georgia) is an American country music singer, known professionally as Jason Aldean . He has recorded three albums on the independent Broken Bow Records label: Jason Aldean , Relentless , and Wide Open , in 2005, 2007, and 2009 respectively. These albums have accounted for eight singles on the Billboard country singles charts, including the Number One hits "Why", "She's Country", and "Big Green Tractor". His first album is certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, while the other two are each certified gold.

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Early life

Aldean's parents, Barry and Debbie, divorced when he was three. He was raised by his mother, mainly in Macon, Georgia. During the summer he would spend time with his father in Homestead, Florida.

Before going to work during the day, his dad would map out guitar chords on notebook paper to show Jason where to place his fingers to play the chords. Jason sat and practiced all day while his dad was at work. When his dad got home, he got out his own guitar and they played together. Soon, after hearing a song only a few times, he could play it. 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 parents encouraged young Jason as he progressed musically. From age 14, after watching the country-music awards on TV, he wanted to perform on stage. With his mother's help, he performed at the local VFW hall in Macon, Georgia. He sang John Anderson's song "Seminole Wind" and Tracy Lawrence's "Sticks and Stones". He would later say that the entire audience — all ten — applauded, and that he almost had to be dragged off the stage because he was hooked on performing. He began performing at area talent contests and local fairs. At 15, he joined the "house band" at the Macon, Georgia nightspot Nashville South.

Musical career

After high school, with his father's help, Aldean and his band performed in college towns in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia, and then further up the southeastern seaboard. With one of the band's members, Justin Weaver, Aldean began writing songs. In 1998 he performed his original songs at a showcase staged by Atlanta nightclub The Buckboard. He was approached by Michael Knox, then of the Warner-Chappell song-publishing company. ^[1] After signing with Warner-Chappell, Aldean moved to Music City on November 1, 1998 at age 21. One of Aldean's greatest influences is the Gin Blossoms.

A month after moving to Music City, Aldean was offered a recording contract but was subsequently dropped. He signed with another label but again was dropped in 2000 for postponing his recording sessions repeatedly. Three years went by. He married Jessica in the meantime. Jessica took a job at a bank in Nashville, and she urged Jason to press on. So did Michael Knox, who has remained by his side during his ordeal. 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 even showed up. Finally, Lawrence Mathis spotted Jason at one of the showcases at The Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville. Mathis signed as Aldean's first manager. Still 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 first album, Jason picked up his new (and current agent), Bimal Patel.

Jason Aldean (2005-2006)

Aldean's first single, "Hicktown", was released in early 2005. It served as the lead-off to his album Jason Aldean , and reached a peak of #10 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The album also produced his first Number One hit in "Why", as well as the #4-peaking "Amarillo Sky", which had previously been a non-charting single in 2002 for McBride & the Ride. Jason Aldean earned the title of "Top New Male Vocalist" at the 2006 Academy of Country Music Awards. Jason Aldean has sold over one million copies in the United States, and was certified platinum by the RIAA in 2007.

Relentless (2007-2008)

Aldean spent most of January 2007 in the studio with producer Michael Knox to finish his second album, Relentless . This album was released on May 29, 2007, and at Wal-Mart, it was released with a Limited Edition CMT Pick DVD that includes performances from Jason Aldean. The album's lead-off single, "Johnny Cash", was originally recorded by Tracy Byrd and peaked at #6 when Aldean released it. Its followup, "Laughed Until We Cried", has become his fifth consecutive Top Ten hit. Relentless has also been certified platinum by the RIAA, and its title track was released as its third single. The song has also been Aldean's lowest charting single in both the U.S. and Canada, failing to reach Top Ten on the country charts.

Wide Open (2008-Present)

Aldean released a seventh single titled "She's Country" to radio on December 1, 2008. ^[2] It is the first single from his third album Wide Open which was released on April 7, 2009. The single debuted at #51 on the Hot Country Songs chart in late-November 2008. His seventh consecutive Top 40 hit on the country charts, it is also his first Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and has become his second number-one hit. The next single from this album is "Big Green Tractor"; which debuted at #48 on the country charts for the chart week of May 22, 2009. It then entered the Top 40 of the charts in its second chart week and became his third Number One on the chart week of September 5, 2009. Wide Open debuted at #2 on the Top Country Albums chart.

Jason Aldean performed with Bryan Adams on an episode of CMT Crossroads in the beginning of May, and the episode premiered on June 26, 2009. ^[3]

A live DVD titled Wide Open Live & More will be released on August 25, 2009.

Discography

Studio albums

All albums released on Broken Bow Records.

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions					Certifications [4] (sales threshold)
		US Country	US	US Indie	CAN Country	CAN
2005	Jason Aldean Released: July 26, 2005 Format: CD, digital download	6	37	1		—	US: Platinum
2007	Relentless Released: May 29, 2007 Format: CD, digital download	1	4	1		—	US: Gold
2009	Wide Open Released: April 7, 2009 Format: CD, digital download	2	4	1	15	121	US: Gold
"—" denotes the album failed to chart or not released * denotes unknown peak positions

Video albums

Year	Album details	Certifications (sales threshold)
2009	Wide Open Live & More Released: August 25, 2009 [5] Format: DVD	US: Gold

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions					RIAA [6]	Album
		US Country	US	US Pop	CAN Country	CAN
2005	"Hicktown"	10	68	—	27	—	Gold	Jason Aldean
	"Why"	1	43	89	4	—	Gold
2006	"Amarillo Sky"	4	59	90	29	—	Gold
2007	"Johnny Cash"	6	68	90	25	—	—	Relentless
	"Laughed Until We Cried"	6	61	—	6	88	—
2008	"Relentless"	15	103	—	47	—	—
	"She's Country"	1	29	—	14	90	Gold	Wide Open
2009	"Big Green Tractor"[A	1	20	—	4	61
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not certified

;Notes

• A^ Current single.

Music videos

Year	Video	Director [7]
2005	"Hicktown"	Wes Edwards
	"Why"
2006	"Amarillo Sky"
2007	"Johnny Cash"
	"Laughed Until We Cried"	Kristin Barlowe
2008	"Relentless"	Ryan Smith
	"She's Country" (Live at the CMA Awards)	Paul Miller
2009	"She's Country"	Wes Edwards
	"Big Green Tractor"	Ivan Dudynsky

References

1. Jason Aldean biography
2. Music Row singles calendar
3. http://www.musicrow.com/category/artist/
4. Jason Aldean's certified albums
5. Jason Aldean live DVD coming in August
6. Jason Aldean's certified singles
7. Jason Aldean's music videos at CMT.com