Jerrod Niemann and Friends Celebrate ‘Lover, Lover’

Jerrod Niemann was feted with a party in his honor at Nashville's BMI offices on Monday (August 23) to celebrate the chart-topping success of his recent single, 'Lover, Lover,' from the No. 1 album, 'Judge Jerrod and the Hung Jury.' It's been a few weeks since the song hit the top of the charts, but the singer-songwriter is still trying to come to terms with having a No. 1 single of his own.

"I'm still trying to decide exactly how that feels because it was very overwhelming and hard to grasp," Jerrod tells The Boot. "It's an unbelievable feeling, mostly for the fact that I got to experience it with so many people that have hung in there with me over the years and also with a label that's trusted in all of our creativity that we had kind of spent a year on in the middle of the night, [laughs] and somehow at the end of the day came out as an album. So, just to get to experience a No. 1 single with everybody that you believe in and care to make music with is an unbelievable feeling."

While he didn't have a hand in writing 'Lover, Lover,' since it's a remake of the 1992 Sonia Dada hit, 'You Don't Treat Me No Good,' Jerrod wanted to also pay tribute to the man behind the song, Sonia Dada founding member, Daniel Pritzker, who flew in from out of town for the party. "Obviously, at the end of the day, this is to honor the songwriter," Jerrod notes. "I love claiming songwriting as dear to my heart. I'm a fan of his music so I get to meet someone that I look up to outside of our format, and I really want to stress today that a great song -- since I didn't write it, I can say it -- a great piece of art can translate to many different people. It's not just tied down to one format and genre."

Prior to the main festivities, Daniel gave Jerrod an obviously well-played acoustic guitar. We butted into their first meeting backstage to find out if it was the very axe he wrote the song on, and Daniel replied that although it was definitely not the one he recorded the song with, it could very well be the one he wrote the song on nearly two decades ago.

This is Jerrod's first No. 1 as an artist, but it's not his first chart-topper. He co-wrote 'Good Ride Cowboy,' which Garth Brooks took to the top of the country chart in 2005. "I remember the day we had the 'Good Ride Cowboy' No. 1 party, and a friend came up to me and said, 'How are you going to ever top a No. 1 hit with Garth Brooks? That's got to be so hard to fathom,' recalls Jerrod. "I said, 'Man, nothing will ever top having a Garth Brooks No. 1, especially with the subject matter being about one of our heroes as well. I don't think you have to top stuff, it's all just a part of your career.' To me, it's an unbelievable dream come true. I didn't write the song ... but to me, I love country music and I love the music so much and just to be a part of it, whether I just do the silly hand claps or I wrote the song, being a part of creating country music is all equal to me."

With so much to celebrate, Jerrod hinted the party might continue way into the night, especially if he hooks up with his music-loving pals. "I put out an invitation to everyone involved in the record and some of my artist friends, like Jamey Johnson, Jake Owen and Lee Brice, guys like that, and some are in town and some aren't, so if they're sober, maybe they'll show up. If not, I'll meet them out later. [laughs] My parents were kind enough to come from Texas and my sister who lives here, so it was very nice for them to come. Christian Kane has been living in Portland shooting 'Leverage,' and they just wrapped up, so he's in town. He's going to come today. I say all this and probably no one will show up."

Jerrod is getting ready to kick off an opening slot on his first major tour with Gary Allan and pal Randy Houser next month. He'll also be releasing his next single, 'What Do You Want,' at the end of September. In the meantime, he's set to perform at the annual Buds 'N Suds Music Festival in Nashville with proceeds benefiting the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America on Wednesday (August 25).