When it comes to songwriting, Jason Aldean turned to the King of Country Music for guidance – George Strait.
“George Strait’s made a career on not writing anything,” Aldean told Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen. “He’s just really good at finding songs.”
It’s not that Aldean can’t write songs. He moved to Nashville to be a songwriter for Warner Chappell. He said he knocked out “tons” of songs but has the same problem now that he did then.
“It’s not that I don’t write or can’t write,” he said. “I’m just my own worst critic.”
Aldean, who will release “GEORGIA,” the second half of his “MACON, GEORGIA” double album on Friday, has no trouble finding songs to record, and his famous friends are happy to jump in and help. Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard contributed to the album, as did ERNEST.
Hubbard sent Aldean the song “Your Mama” after the “Cruise” singer and his wife Hayley Hubbard had a surprise with their first pregnancy.
“Whenever we’re cutting a new album, he’ll hit me up and send me a few songs that he’s got,” Aldean said. “His wife was pregnant, and they were having a little boy, or at least they were told they were having a little boy. So, Tyler goes in, and he writes this song. Well, fast forward. (He) finds out that that little boy is not a little boy. It’s a little girl. So, he was going to cut this song for his little boy that he ended up having a little girl.”
The song worked for Aldean, whose son Memphis is 4 years old. The Hubbards have since had two little boys, too.
New artist ERNEST also got in on the song-pitching action. The “Flower Shops” singer was hanging out on the beach with Aldean and Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley when he played “Holy Water” for Aldean.
“I just lyrically thought it was so cool,” Aldean said. “We were just at the beach at that time, and it just kind of all made sense. I thought it was so well written and lyrically, I mean, just amazing. It kind of blew me away. And so that night, I’m like, ’Who do I call to put the song on hold?’ And so I ended up putting it on hold that night… I’m like, ’Man, hey, text whoever you got to text at your publishing company.’ And so I sent it to (my producer Michael) Knox that night. I’m like, ’Check this out.’ But the funny thing was, it was the first night I’d ever met Ernest.”
Hear Aldean’s entire interview at 2 p.m. (ET) Friday or anytime on-demand at apple.co/TodaysCountry.