While some try to distance themselves from bro country, there are those that are proud of that time period in country music.
Jake Owen is not only one of them, but he is planting his flag on top of the mountain, and willing to push off anyone who tries to take his spot.
Owen sat down with Evan Paul on Taste of Country Nights, where he firmly claims that he started bro country.
“I had a record deal long before bro country and the reason that bro country started — I started that sh-t.”
Obviously, the next question was, how did he start bro country?
“How did I start it? I would challenge most people in this town to tell me that I didn’t,” he tells us.
“I started to work with a guy who never produced country music, only Nickelback albums and rock and roll stuff. This was before he worked with Florida Georgia Line and all those other guys.”
Owen kept going.
“He and I went into the studio, just the two of us, kicks and claps and loops and whoas — next thing you know, ‘Barefoot Blue Jean Night’ was song of the decade.”
“Once we used loops and started putting all of these major pop and rock effects in the country side of things, everyone else started doing it — until it got old.”
There are country artists who now try to disassociate from their bro country pasts, but not Owen.
“A lot of people want to shy away from you and be like, ‘Ah, you know, bro country…’ Owen says.
“But I’m proud of that moment of my life because I took a risk.”
How Old Is Jake Owen?
Jake Owen is now 44 years old. He was born on Aug. 28, 1981.
How Many No. 1 Songs Does Jake Owen Have?
Jake Owen has scored 10 No.1 songs on country radio.
Who had the most played country song during the year you were born? This list is a fascinating time capsule of prevalent trends from every decade in American history. Scroll through to find your birth year and then click to listen. Some of these songs have been lost through the years, many of them for good reason!
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
Find out which country singer dominated on this list of the most popular albums from the year you were born or graduated high school.
This list is based on sales date from the Soundscan era (1991 to 2022) and total weeks spent atop Billboard‘s Hot Country Albums chart (1964-1990).
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes