Jennifer Hanson Scores as Songwriter

Jennifer Hanson photo by Juan Pont Lezica, courtesy of Universal South.

March 20, 2008 — Last month, the Wreckers picked up a gold single for "Leave The Pieces," but it wasn't just good news for them. It was also a nice moment for singer-songwriter Jennifer Hanson, who co-wrote the song.

Jennifer earned an Academy of Country Music award nomination after she notched a hit with her debut single, "Beautiful Goodbye," several years ago, and she's currently preparing for the release of a new album. Songwriting has been a strong suit for her in the meantime: In addition to "Leave The Pieces," she also co-wrote the Bucky Covington hit "A Different World," a song about the ever-changing circumstances in which children are raised.

"My two co-writers were 15 years my senior, so their perspective went even a little farther than mine did, but there's a lot of stuff in that song that I relate to," Jennifer says. "I remember riding around in the car without a seat belt and riding around on my bike without a helmet and playing outside with my friends rather than being inside."

Jennifer recorded the song in a gentler manner than Bucky did it, but his version got released first, and you certainly won't hear Jennifer complaining.

"I'm grateful that they cut it," she observes. "People got to hear the song, and it's still my song, and I have the opportunity to get out and perform it in front of people. My version's quite different than Bucky's, so it's fun to get to play."

Jennifer hasn't yet decided whether to put her version of "A Different World" on her new album, which is expected some time this summer.