Jordan Rager is making things happen. And now, he’s on your radio. The 21-year-old has had an exciting 2016, and it’s only February. Busy in the midst of a radio tour, Rager released his single, ‘Feels Like One of Them,’ on December 18, just a couple short months ago. “I feel like I’ve seen every state there is to see, just in the last five or six months,” Jordan told New England Country Music. Bouncing around from state to state, radio station to radio station, the Atlanta native has received nothing but positive reviews regarding the single. “The support that came out of radio stations and program directors, the fans that let me know on social media how they felt about it- that means the world to me.” The humility that Jordan possesses is something that will make him successful and he doesn’t overlook the opportunities he is afforded. “There are a lot of people who are doing what I’m doing and trying to make the same thing happen. So for me, to put something out that people are digging really means a lot.”
Time, thought, and a good feeling all play a role in choosing a single. This time around, Jordan had the help and advice from buddy and labelmate, Jason Aldean. Last year, the two bounced around the idea of building a duet together, as Aldean was listening to some of Rager’s stuff to see if there was a good song to sing as a duo. ”Jason asked if I’d be willing to give that one to just him and not sing that together,” Jordan explained. “I was like ‘nah I’m sorry, you can’t have that one.’ He said ‘alright, but that better be your first single.’” As a result, ‘Feels Like One of Them’ became a radio single by the self-taught guitar player and his team. “When you’ve got Jason saying stuff like that, it’s hard not to go with that song.”
However, ‘Feels Like One of Them’ is not Jordan’s latest single released to radio. The duet-in-the-making came to fruition with Rager’s ‘Southern Boy,’ featuring Aldean, a catchy tune that has all the makings of a number one hit. Jeremy Stover, who penned the song and is also Jordan’s producer, brought the song to his attention years ago to be recorded. Before the record deal and signing with Broken Bow Records, ‘Southern Boy’ was merely a song to play for people. “It’s something I think both me and Jason can relate to and that’s why he wanted to be a part of it.” The song hit radio just yesterday, February 16th, and has been receiving positive feedback ever since. It meant the world to Jordan to put out a song with such a successful artist. He grew more humble as the conversation went on and it was easy to hear the appreciation in his voice. “I can’t thank him enough for believing in me. I’m still pinching myself.”
The Season 2 contestant on NBC’s The Voice has been previously categorized as ‘young country.’ “When they first said that, I was like I don’t know what that means,” he laughed. “I hope that my music will stretch to all demographics- whether its young people, old people, middle aged people, moms, dads, sisters, brothers, whoever it is, I hope my music reaches to all of them.” Young country or not, 2016 is going to be a big year for Rager. Before December 31, he will be putting out a record, continuing his radio tour, and playing as many shows as he possibly can. New England Country Music is convinced we will be hearing more Jordan Rager in our speakers in the near future and we look forward to it.
This was written by Lauren Rose, contributing writer for New England Country Music. You can follow her on Twitter here.
You can purchase Jordan’s ‘Southern Boy’ on iTunes here.