Jake Owen Bridges Past and Present in His ‘Dream World’

Jake Owen, who burst on to the scene a mere four years ago, has already had a career many artists only dream about. Not only is he the reigning ACM Top New Male Artist, he's also scored a Grammy nomination, five Top 20 singles, two Top 10 albums and tour spots with some of country's biggest acts, including Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, Brooks and Dunn and Alan Jackson. It was, he says, the perfect beginning.

"I think when I first got my deal and went on tour right off the bat with these superstars, I felt like I was in a dream world," he says in the current ACM Spotlight. "When you tour with someone, they're putting their name out there and tagging you along with it. Because of this, I now feel like I'm accepted, whereas before I was wondering if things were going to work or not."

Jake makes it clear that while he has a lot of respect for the legends in country music, he thinks it's important to make music relevant to today's culture. "There are people that are my heroes, like Waylon [Jennings] and Hank Williams Jr., that I definitely look up to, and they've set the benchmark for the kind of music I aspire to make," he explains. "But at the same time, there's a reason that music is in that era, and there's a reason that I'm making music in this era. So, you have to be truthful to the current times while keeping the past in mind too."

One of the ways Jake connects with his fans is by writing music to which the fans -- both male and female -- can relate. "It's really important for me when I'm writing songs that speak to women that I speak to them in a way of respect, first of all," he says. "And secondly, I try to write in a way where a guy listening would say, 'Man, I'd say that to a girl.' Hopefully that guy finds things that he wishes he could say, and he can use my music as the avenue for it. Conway Twitty did that. He sang songs to women all the time, but it was a very masculine way of saying it. It wasn't soft. I don't think any of my love songs on this record are soft."

A songwriter as well as a singer, Jake has only recorded two songs he didn't write, both on his latest album, 'Easy Does It.' It's a careful decision, he says, to make sure his music is true to him. "The only way to connect with that guy in the front row is to be honest about what I know, and sing about what I know," he says. "I think people get that with this album. When someone's truthful, people get it. But if someone doesn't believe what I'm singing, they're not going to connect with it because they'll have their guard up. There's no belief there. It's all about truth. In order for people to gravitate towards your music and buy into what you're saying, they have to know it's true."

Jake, who recently scored another hit with 'Eight Second Ride,' makes a surprisingly honest admission, that he had no intentions of making a flawless record. "My main goal with this album was to make music that's not overdone or over thought," he says. "I just went in the studio and sang. I'd sing the song from start to finish a couple of times and then leave because there was no doubt in my mind that I'd done the best I could do. Whether it's perfect or not, it's who I am."

Jake will be in Florida this coming weekend, with shows slated in Tampa (Jan. 22) and Tallahassee (Jan. 24).