“No one is going to put your pants on in the morning for you.” It’s a lesson that Jackie Lee shared with us while reflecting on his journey thus far in country music. The 25 year old got a taste of success with singles in the past but ultimately felt like he could be putting out better work. Feeling a little lost, he entered his own “Artist Witness Protection Program,” cutting off most communication with his label. Taking a step back enabled Lee to figure out who he is as both a person and an artist. “I found out real quick that no one’s going to wake up and go chase your dreams more than you… you can either feel sorry for yourself and be mad that the world is the way it is, or just stop making excuses and go try to win the day,” Lee declared. Reemerging with a brand new single, ‘Getting Over You,’ that was released in December 2016, the Tennessee native is feeling more confident than ever and ready to embark on the next chapter.
Over the years, Jackie has gone to countless writing sessions, many of which he walked away from feeling underwhelmed with the finished product. That all changed one day when he got together with Brent Anderson and Paul DiGiovani. The write started out much like hundreds of others but wound up being something special, Lee explained. “We were talking about a lot of stuff and we kind of started two or three different songs. Nothing was really sticking and I could tell Brent was a little preoccupied, like his mind was somewhere else,” Jackie recalled. Anderson finally admitted that he and his girlfriend had broken up the night before and showed the guys a text from her that read, “If you think getting over me was hard, try getting over you.” That text, of course, turned out to be their inspiration as they got into Brent’s head and produced a universally relatable breakup song. The tables were about to turn for the singer who was in his aforementioned “Artist Witness Protection Program” at the time. “I knew that for the ball to get rolling again on my career, it was going to have to be a song that everyone could truly get behind. So we did the demo – Paul did the demo at his studio – and then I sent it to the record label and my email in my phone was just blowing up. They were really excited about it!” he recalled.
‘Getting Over You’ is a song that Lee is truly proud of. Both fans and critics agree that it’s some of his best work with Rolling Stone Country proclaiming the “heartbroken anthem… is poised to be his breakthrough moment.” Recognition such as that means everything to the singer, he said. “You know, people said nice things about me and said nice things about ‘She Does’ but deep down in my heart I didn’t feel like I was putting my best work out there,” Lee explained. As a 20 year old newcomer in the industry, Jackie wasn’t given much credit. “In the first stuff I didn’t really have that much invested. Not because I didn’t want to, just because I wasn’t allowed to. So this time around, being there, the story I just told you about writing it, and going to the producing, I had so much to say during the producing part of it and even down to photos, to promotion ads and stuff, I’m wrapped up in every aspect of it. To have someone say, ‘Hey, we like your work,’ it means a lot… It means the world,” Jackie said. There was a time when the singer would leave radio stations “in shambles,” but now Jackie now walks away at peace knowing that no matter what he’s proud of his work, he explained. “As an artist, and a producer and a songwriter, you have no control if your song’s going to go number one or sell a million copies or any of that – those are completely x variables. The only thing that you have control of is when it leaves your hands, have you given everything to that song? Can you say that you’ve absolutely put all your efforts into making it great? And the first go-around I couldn’t say that, but this time I can.”
With the significant impact ‘Getting Over You’ has made since its release, Jackie is fired up about his next body of work. “We have so many songs that we have right now that I’ve just been writing and songs that I’ve been finding. I feel really good about what we have so far,” Lee said. “We’re trying to get back in either this month or early next month to record some more songs with Paul [DiGiovani]. But I don’t know exactly what time-frame we’re looking at to go cut and to when it’s going to be released and all that.” Earlier this year, Lee accompanied Brett Young on tour dates in January and filled the opening slot for Sara Evans at some of her shows in February. “It’s a place for me to go try out new songs, see how they work, and then also see people’s reaction to how I’m singing and what can I do better as an entertainer,” Jackie explained. He’ll also be hitting the road with duo, Dan + Shay this spring as support on their Obsessed tour which will run through March and April.
2017 is already off to a great start for the singer, who has been named a CMT ’17 for 2017 LISTEN UP artist and a member of Bobby Bones’ Class of 2017. And as far as new year’s resolutions go, Lee’s not one to make one. He did, however, set a major goal for the upcoming year. “I would love to have a number one record in 2017,” he stated. We think it would be well-deserved. There’s no doubt that Jackie has the talent, and he’s certainly paid his dues in the business. Lee is finally in a place where he’s confident in his music, surrounded by a hard-working and passionate team, and has an ever-growing fanbase. Although it took some time to get to where he is today, Jackie wouldn’t want it any other way. “It was a personal journey, but it had to be. It couldn’t have been a record label, it couldn’t have been my dad or whoever in my life, it had to be me that figured it out,” he reflected. It seems that the stars have finally aligned and Jackie is looking towards a very bright future.
You can purchase your copy of ‘Getting Over You’ on iTunes and Google Play.
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