James Otto

James Allen Otto (born July 29, 1973) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Otto began his career on Mercury Nashville Records in 2002, charting three minor singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and recording his debut album Days of Our Lives for the label before being dropped in 2004.

In late 2007, he signed to Warner Bros. Records. His second album, Sunset Man, was released in April 2008. It was co-produced by Otto, along with John Rich of Big & Rich and Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts, the latter of whom is Otto's brother-in-law. The lead-off single to Sunset Man, "Just Got Started Lovin' You", became Otto's first Number One hit, as well as the Number One country single of 2008 according to Billboard.

Personal life James Otto was born on July 29, 1973, on the Fort Lewis Army Base in the state of Washington. He first took up singing at age 2 and later learned to play violin and saxophone. However, he wanted to learn to play guitar as well. At age 13, he received a guitar for his birthday.

Musical career

Days of Our Lives In 2002, Otto met Scott Parker of Mercury Nashville Records, who signed him to a record deal that year. Shortly after the song peaked, his debut album (also entitled Days of Our Lives) was released on Mercury, and in 2004, Otto was signed as an opening act for Shania Twain on her Up! Tour. Sunset Man peaked at No. 2 on Top Country Albums upon its April release. "Just Got Started Lovin' You" reached Number One on the Hot Country Songs charts a month later, becoming the highest-charting single of his career as well as the Number One country single of 2008 according to the Billboard Year-End charts. The album's other two singles — "For You" and "These Are the Good Ole Days" — did not perform as well on the charts, peaking at No. 39 and No. 36 in September 2008 and January 2009, respectively.

In mid-2008, Otto was commissioned to perform a new theme song for the Atlanta Braves, entitled "The Braves Play Here," composed by Greg Barnhill and Randy Wachtler for 615 Music. He also co-wrote Jamey Johnson's mid-2008 single "In Color" with Johnson and Lee Thomas Miller. This song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song at the 2008 Grammy Awards, and received the 2008 Academy of Country Music award for Song of the Year, which is awarded to the songwriters.

Otto released a new single, "Since You Brought It Up", in April 2009. It peaked at number 37, and did not appear on a studio album. The song was followed by "Groovy Little Summer Song" in early 2010. It reached the Top 30 and served as the lead-off single from Otto's third album, Shake What God Gave Ya, which was produced by Paul Worley and was released on September 14, 2010. The album's second single, "Soldiers & Jesus," was released to country radio on September 7, 2010, and reached a peak of number 34. In March 2011, Otto announced on his Twitter that he had exited Warner Bros. Records.

Otto also performed backing vocals on the original album cut of the song "Chicken & Biscuits", performed by country rap artist Colt Ford on his 2010 album of the same name. The single version, however, features Rhean Boyer of Carolina Rain in place of Otto singing on backup. Otto also co-wrote Zac Brown Band's 2012 single "No Hurry".

New record label signing Otto self-released a new single, "Somewhere Tonight", in late 2014 via his own Ottopilot Records. In June 2015, Otto signed with Blaster Records, and "Somewhere Tonight" was released to country radio on July 13, 2015, as his first single with the record label. In 2024, Otto released a cover of the Beyoncé song "Texas Hold 'Em". That same year, Otto also announced a new studio album, Self Made Fool, though it has not been released as of March 2026.

In mid-2026, the Mavericks announced that, following the death of their lead singer Raul Malo in 2025, they would begin a new tour that year with Otto as featured vocalists. This tour is known as the Music Lives On Tour.

Discography

Studio albums Title Album details Peak chartpositions US Country US Days of Our Lives Release date: March 9, 2004 Label: Mercury Nashville 61 — Sunset Man Release date: April 8, 2008 Label: Raybaw/Warner Bros. Nashville 2 3 Shake What God Gave Ya Release date: September 14, 2010 Label: Warner Bros. Nashville 10 63 "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications(sales threshold) Album US Country US Country Airplay US CAN 2002 "The Ball" 45 — — Days of Our Lives 2003 "Days of Our Lives" 33 — — 2004 "Sunday Morning and Saturday Night" 58 — — 2007 "Just Got Started Lovin' You" 1 27 71 US: Gold Sunset Man 2008 "For You" 39 — — "These Are the Good Ole Days" 36 — — 2009 "Since You Brought It Up" 37 — — 2010 "Groovy Little Summer Song" 26 — — Shake What God Gave Ya "Soldiers & Jesus" 34 — — 2015 "Somewhere Tonight" — 57 — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos Year Video Director 2008 "Just Got Started Lovin' You" Ryan Smith "For You" Kristin Barlowe/Jack Roberts 2009 "These Are the Good Ole Days" Ryan Smith 2010 "Groovy Little Summer Song" David McClister