Jason Aldean

Jason Aldine Williams (born February 28, 1977), known professionally as Jason Aldean, is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group (formerly known as Broken Bow Records), a record label for which he has released eleven albums and 40 singles. His 2010 album, My Kinda Party, is certified six-times 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.

30 of Aldean's 41 singles have reached number one on either the Hot Country Songs or Country Airplay charts. Aldean has had many hits including "Amarillo Sky", "She's Country", "Big Green Tractor", "Crazy Town", "My Kinda Party", "Dirt Road Anthem", "Fly Over States", "When She Says Baby", "Burnin' It Down", "You Make It Easy", "If I Didn't Love You", "Trouble with a Heartbreak", "Try That in a Small Town", and "Whiskey Drink".

Early life Jason Aldine Williams was born in Macon, Georgia, Before going to work, Aldean's father 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.

Career 1998–2004: Career beginnings After high school, with his father's money, 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.

2005–2008: Jason Aldean and Relentless Aldean's debut single, "Hicktown", was released in early 2005. The album contained his first number one hit with "Why". In an interview with Shave Magazine, Aldean explained that working with Bryan on Crossroads "was great" and that "e was a lot of fun." But the real highlight for him was that he was working with Randy Owen. "I am a big fan of Alabama so I got a chance to work with Randy Owen on this album (it didn't make the album but it eventually made a bonus track). It was really cool. Alabama were like 'The Beatles' for me so working with him was definitely one of the highlights," he said "I mean, both of those guys were really cool moments, but if I had to pick one highlight, it would be working with Randy [Owen] this year." A live DVD titled Wide Open Live & More was released on August 25, 2009. At the 2010 CMT Music Awards, Aldean picked up 3 nominations in Video of the Year and Male Video of the Year for "The Truth", as well as Collaborative Video of the Year and CMT Performance of the Year for his performance of "Heaven" with Bryan Adams.

In August 2010, Aldean released the single "My Kinda Party", which entered the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 41. It marks as Aldean's tenth top-10 country hit. In March 2011, the song was chosen as the third single from My Kinda Party. Aldean also collaborated with Ludacris for the song at the 2011 CMT Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee on June 8, 2011. In addition to making #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart "Don't You Wanna Stay" received a Grammy nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, but lost to The Civil Wars at the 54th Grammy Awards on February 12, 2012. The fourth single from the album was "Tattoos on This Town", which peaked at No. 2,

During a radio interview on May 18, Aldean hinted at another possible collaboration with Ludacris. He did state that it would not be on Night Train. On December 16, 2014, Ludacris released an Extended Play titled Burning Bridges, in which the title track featured him and Aldean as a duet. Aldean performed "My Kinda Party" during the People's Choice Awards on January 9, 2013. On June 5, 2013, Jason Aldean co-hosted the 2013 CMT Music Awards with actress Kristen Bell. He and Lenny Kravitz opened the awards show singing "American Woman".

On July 22, 2014, Aldean released a new single "Burnin' It Down". This song would serve as the lead single off his sixth studio album Old Boots, New Dirt, which was released on October 7, 2014. This song reached No. 1 both on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. the only country star to release a platinum-seller in 2014, and joins only Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande in platinum album certifications for collections released this year.

2016–2018: They Don't Know and Rearview Town In July 2016 it was announced that the seventh regular studio album, They Don't Know, was set for release on September 9 of that year. Again produced by Michael Knox, the album was preceded by the single "Lights Come On", released to country radio on April 1, 2016. The album's second single, "A Little More Summertime", released to country radio on July 15, 2016. The album's third single, "Any Ol' Barstool", was released to country radio on December 5, 2016. The album's fourth and final single, the title track of the album, was released to country radio on May 8, 2017. At the 2016 ACM Awards, Aldean was awarded Entertainer of the Year for the first time in his career. He would go on to win that award in 2017 and also 2018.

In March 2017, Aldean announced that he is working on his eighth album, titled Rearview Town, which was released on April 13, 2018. The lead single, "You Make It Easy", was released on January 26, 2018.

On October 1, 2017, Aldean had just begun performing "When She Says Baby" at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, when Stephen Paddock began firing into the crowd from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort. Aldean and his band managed to exit the stage unharmed but 60 concertgoers died and 867 others were injured during the incident. On October 7, Aldean opened Saturday Night Live with words of support for those hurting in the aftermath of the shooting, saying that "we witnessed one of the worst tragedies in American history. Like everyone, I'm struggling to understand what happened that night (and why) and how to pick up the pieces and start to heal. But you can be sure that we're going to walk through these tough times together, every step of the way. Because when America is at its best, our bond and our spirit — it's unbreakable." He then performed a cover of "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty, who had died five days earlier.

2019–2023: 9 and Macon, Georgia Aldean performed at the 2019 Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum Concert and Induction Ceremony. Aldean's ninth album, titled 9, was released on November 22, 2019. The album's first single, "We Back" released to country radio on September 9, 2019. It peaked at number 6 on the Country Airplay in March 2020 and number 1 on the Canadian Country chart. The album's second single, "Got What I Got" released to country radio on April 6, 2020. "Blame It on You" was released on October 26, 2020, as the album's third and final single.

On July 23, 2021, Aldean released the single "If I Didn't Love You", featuring Carrie Underwood. It was the leadoff single to his tenth studio album, a double album project titled Macon, Georgia. The first half, Macon, was released on November 12, 2021. On January 14, 2022, "Trouble with a Heartbreak" was released as the album's second single and was the leadoff single to the second half of the album, Georgia, which was released on April 22, 2022. On March 25, 2022, Aldean and Brantley Gilbert released the single "Rolex® on a Redneck". On July 18, 2022, Aldean released "That's What Tequila Does" to country radio as the third and final single off Macon, Georgia. In November 2022, Aldean released his version of Alabama's "Christmas in Dixie".

2023–2025: "Try That in a Small Town" and Highway Desperado

On May 19, 2023, Aldean released "Try That in a Small Town" as the lead single from his eleventh album. Its music video was released on July 14, generating controversy for invoking imagery related to the 2020 George Floyd protests while being filmed in front of the Maury County courthouse, the site of a 1946 race riot and a 1927 lynching of a Black man. Four days after its release, CMT pulled the music video from air. The song and video were denounced by fellow musicians including Sheryl Crow, Jason Isbell and Margo Price while drawing support from country musicians Cody Johnson and Brantley Gilbert and then-former president Donald Trump. Amid the controversy, the song debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, Aldean's best chart performance of his career. The next week, it rose to number one and became Aldean's first national chart-topper.

On August 24, 2023, Aldean announced his eleventh album Highway Desperado, which was released on November 3, 2023, and released the song "Let Your Boys Be Country" the following day, on August 25. "Let Your Boys Be Country" was later released as the album's second single on November 27, 2023.

"Whiskey Drink", also originally a promotional single, would be released to country radio on July 24, 2024 as the album's third single.

2025-present: "How Far Does a Goodbye Go" and Songs About Us

On September 12, 2025, Aldean released "How Far Does a Goodbye Go" as the lead single from his twelfth album, Songs About Us. The album was announced on November 7, 2025, and was released on April 24, 2026.

Personal life Aldean married Jessica Ann Ussery on August 4, 2001. Together, the couple have a daughter born in 2003, and another born in 2007. with former American Idol contestant Brittany Kerr, responding to reports linking her and Aldean. In a statement, Kerr said she had suffered "a lapse in judgment" and "would like to sincerely apologize to everyone that has been affected by this." Aldean filed for divorce on April 26, 2013, citing irreconcilable differences and listing the filing date as the formal separation date. They announced their engagement in September 2014 and were married on March 21, 2015. Their son Memphis was born on December 1, 2017. Their daughter Navy was born in early 2019. In August 2022, Brittany Aldean posted an Instagram video in which she stated, "I'd really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life", followed by a longer post in which she stated an opposition to trans existence. In response, Aldean's public relations firm The GreenRoom dropped him after 17 years as a client on September 1. Jason Aldean's Kitchen + Rooftop Bar in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in 2023. Aldean owns part of a hunting company, Buck Commander, in partnership with former Major League Baseball (MLB) players Adam LaRoche, Ryan Langerhans, and Tom Martin; Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty; and fellow country singers Luke Bryan and Tyler Farr. He also owns Jason Aldean's Kitchen + Rooftop Bar, which opened in Nashville in 2018. A second location in Gatlinburg opened in 2023, a third location in Pittsburgh opened in March 2024, and a fourth location in Las Vegas opened in December 2024.

He also is a co-owner of the E3 Chophouse in Nashville with Luke Bryan and Adam LaRoche. The restaurant opened in 2013 before closing in February 2026. In June 2026, a lawsuit was filed against Aldean, Bryan and LaRoche individually, alleging unpaid rent and breach of contract, following a $1.4 million judgment against the restaurant's parent company.

In 2015, Forbes estimated Aldean's annual income at $43.5 million. Aldean was the seventh highest-earning country musician making about $32.5 million in 2017. In 2017, Aldean was on Forbes' Celebrity 100 list, being ranked at 98. Aldean became the sixth artist to receive the ACM Dick Clark Artist of the Decade Award in 2019. The award is given to artists who were consistently on top of the charts over the span of the decade.

Charity work Aldean has supported raising awareness for breast cancer research since 2004, after losing a close friend to the disease. He has raised close to $4 million for cancer research through donating a portion of each ticket sale, special merchandise, VIP meet and greets, a donate button on his website, and his annual Concert for the Cure, most of which he has contributed to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Political beliefs

Aldean is a registered Republican. He performed at a concert for the inauguration of President Donald Trump in 2017, which he described as an "honor," stating he viewed it as a celebration of the presidency rather than a purely political event. He has posted support for Trump on Instagram, including a 2024 post with the caption "Ladies and Gentlemen, President Donald J Trump" where he expressed that a potential second Trump term would be a "new era" for America.

The 2023 release of his song "Try That in a Small Town" attracted significant political controversy, with critics interpreting the song as having political undertones, while he defended it as being about community and safety.

He endorsed Trump in the 2024 United States presidential election. Aldean is a spokesperson for Patriot Mobile, a Christian, conservative wireless provider.

Band members Jason Aldean – lead vocals, guitar, piano Tully Kennedy – bass guitar, backing vocals Kurt Allison – lead guitar Rich Redmond – drums, percussion Carl Ray (Jay) Jackson – pedal steel guitar, banjo, backing vocals Jack Sizemore – guitar, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums Jason Aldean (2005) Relentless (2007) Wide Open (2009) My Kinda Party (2010) Night Train (2012) Old Boots, New Dirt (2014) They Don't Know (2016) Rearview Town (2018) 9 (2019) Macon, Georgia (2021–2022) Highway Desperado (2023) Songs About Us (2026)

Tours Headlining 2008: CMT ON TOUR: Relentless 2010: Wide Open Tour 2011–12: My Kinda Party Tour 2013: Night Train Tour 2014–15: Burn It Down Tour Twelve shows in 2015 were merged with Kenny Chesney (The Big Revival Tour) 2016: We Were Here/Six String Circus Tour 2017: They Don't Know Tour 2018: High Noon Neon Tour 2019: Ride All Night Tour 2020: We Back Tour 2021: Back in the Saddle Tour 2022: Rock N' Roll Cowboy Tour 2023: Highway Desperado Tour 2024: Highway Desperado Tour 2024: Rock the Country Tour 2025: Full Throttle Tour 2026: Songs About Us Tour

Supporting 2006: Me and My Gang Tour (with Rascal Flatts) 2007: Still Feels Good Tour (with Rascal Flatts) 2007: Free and Easy Summer Tour (with Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert) 2008: Live Your Voice Tour (with Tim McGraw) 2010: Last Rodeo Tour (with Brooks & Dunn)

Filmography CMT Crossroads with Bryan Adams (2009), Bob Seger (2014) Sweet Vengeance (2013) CMT Music Awards (2013): Co-Host with Kristen Bell The Voice (Fall 2021): Advisor for Team Kelly

Awards and nominations Grammy Awards

Other awards