Jason Aldean is currently one of the biggest stars in country music, but there was a time when he wasn’t too sure what would happen with his career. In fact, he almost gave up on music altogether and moved back to Georgia.
At a recent number one party in Nashville, Aldean explained that his early struggles worried him not just because of his own goals not yet coming to fruition, but also because he had a family to support.
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“I had a record deal and lost it and kept trying, almost getting there with other record labels, and then stuff would happen, so yeah, I mean, that’s frustrating,” he said. “That’s frustrating for anybody and just frustrating to the point of, at the time, I had my oldest daughter was…I mean, she was just born, so that was kind of where I had to figure out something, a way to feed her. That was priority number one, and so yeah, I mean, there was a point where I was gonna move back to Georgia and go to work with my cousin and just try and re-assess some things and figure it out.”
Ultimately, Aldean scored a new deal and began finding success after releasing his single “Hicktown” in early 2005. It quickly climbed the charts and was followed by Aldean’s self-titled debut album which was released later that year.
Now, he’s one of the most successful musicians in the business, and the 41-year-old explained that he’s motivated to keep working hard by his desire to provide a good life for his family.
“I think for me, I mean, what sort of still motivates me is that. I mean, I’ve been poor,” he said. “That’s not fun. It’s not fun at all, and it wasn’t that long ago in the grand scheme of things, so I work hard because I love what I do, one, but it’s also like, I want nice things for my family. I want them to have a good life and so a lot of that’s for them.”
Aldean is married to wife Brittany Aldean and the couple shares son Memphis, with daughter Navy Rome on the way. Aldean is also dad to daughters, Keeley and Kendyl from a previous marriage.
With a pair of siblings already, Aldean is confident his son will make a great big brother to baby Navy when she arrives in a few weeks.
“He’s got two older sisters, and they’re his favorite people in the world,” he shared. “I mean, every time they come around, he lights up and just wants to hang out with them all the time. Any little kids that are around, he’s always wanting to go up and hug them and stuff, so I think he’s gonna do great.”
Photo Credit: Getty / Rick Diamond
