Jake Owen Is Embracing ‘Real Life’ on New Album

Jake Owen refuses to be content with success. The 33-year-old has already released four studio albums, had five chart-topping singles -- including the multi-platinum hit "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" -- and toured with some of the biggest acts in country music, but as he readies his newest set of tunes, Owen says that he still wants more.

The singer tapped Ross Copperman and Shane McAnally to produce the new record, the details of which are still unknown, but it was one simple instruction that set the tone for the entire project.

“I said, ‘Look, guys … we have to do something that will change the perception of us a little bit, because otherwise why would we do this?" Owen recalls to Taste of Country. "This isn’t gonna change our lives unless we do something great."

The project's debut single, "Real Life," is reminiscent of the '90s rock that Owen grew up listening to in his hometown of Vero Beach, Fla. In fact, when considering the sound he wanted for the new record, he cited Sublime, an alt-rock band from that era, as an example of the direction he wanted to take -- a sound and direction that "Real Life" effortlessly channels.

“I [told Copperman and McAnally], 'Everything in my life right now -- I’m 33, I’m married, I have a kid, my dad beat cancer,'" Owen says. "I’ve gone through a lot of real-life situations over the last couple of years. I wanna get back to things that are real to me, and real-life scenarios.

“Next thing I know, a couple of weeks later, the two of them sent me a song that they wrote together, called 'Real Life.'"

Owen says that his entire new album shows a softer side of himself: less of the singer who drank to excess and partied hard and more of the happily married father, ready to embrace a new season in his life.

"This record is a shift for me toward getting away from the fairytale," he tells Rolling Stone Country. "This is real life, these are real songs, real-life scenarios ... I just want to sing songs about real things, real feelings, and songs that are happy."

Download "Real Life" on iTunes.

Test Your Jake Owen Knowledge!

Jake Owen + More Country Stars' Best Selfies