Jake Owen Counts His Blessings

Jake Owen photo by Chapman Baehler, courtesy of SonyBMG Nashville.

August 28, 2007 — While most country artists spend years singing in clubs, waiting for their big break, Jake Owen has been in Nashville only three years and has already had two Top 20 singles.

"I've definitely been so lucky," Owen told The Tennessean recently while sitting in a room lined with other artists' platinum records at the Sony BMG complex. "I'm sitting right now looking at these things hanging on the wall: Alabama, Waylon Jennings...all these people who have just sold millions and millions of records. I'm just hoping that one day I'll have a plaque on the wall with a bunch of platinum records in it. I'm pretty humbled to be able to say I'm a part of this business."

Jake left college just before graduation to pursue his dream of making it in the music business. Within a year he had signed with RCA, after turning down two publishing deals and two offers from other major labels.

"That first meeting I had with him, he just had that sparkle," said Renee Bell, executive vice president of A&R at Sony BMG Nashville. "When he sat down, I thought, 'I sure hope he can sing because he sure is cute.' And then he started singing and he sort of took my breath away."

Label head Joe Galante agreed, and offered Owen a deal at their first meeting a few days later. Jake recorded an album comprised entirely of his own songs in only two days. "Somebody's looking down on me because there's so many great writers in this town," he said.

Soon, Jake landed the opening spot on Kenny Chesney's summer tour. "I was the kid in the crowd trying to reach up and touch Kenny Chesney," he said. "And then to be on stage with him at the end of the show, he would call me out and give me a high-five. Someone got a picture of that, and I look at that picture all the time....I always look at my life and realize how lucky I am. I don't know what I did to deserve all this, but I'm going to do everything I can to give back to whoever gave it to me."