Old Dominion Guest Star on Shane McAnally’s Show ‘Songland’
Mike Spotz (@illkoncept) for NYCountry Swag
The 2019 ACM Vocal Group of the Year, Old Dominion was featured on NBC’s Songland last night. The five-member band, consisting of Trevor Rosen, Whit Sellers, Geoff Sprung, Brad Tursi, and front-man, Matthew Ramsey chose to record “Young”, written by Katelyn Tarver. The song, however, will not be featured on their upcoming album but in a never before seen Jeep commercial.
The commercial expresses how Jeep makes you feel young again. It shows scenes of an older couple reliving a moment from their younger days. Tarver stars as the young version of the wife as the video cuts back forth between the couple at a young age and them now, driving around in their electric blue-colored Jeep. We believe Old Dominion’s new song fits the commercial perfectly. Watch it for yourself here:
“Baby, I just wanna be young / Young forever with you”
In “Young”, Ramsey sings of how he wants to go back to his younger days when he and his significant other were the only two people in the world that mattered. When Tarver went into the studio with Shane McAnally to work on the song, they had to make it fit Old Dominion’s style and Jeep’s brand. They toughened the song up by adding a “pulsing bass” and changing the verses to help it lose its original femininity. When she performed “Young” the second time in front of the Chief Marketing Director at Jeep, Oliver Francois, she sang it with a male to better display its toughness.
“When I drive (with the) top-off my wrangler, I morph into this 26-year-old self of mine”, Francois said after hearing Tarver’s song. “That’s exactly what Jeep is about.” Tarver, from Glennville, Georgia is an artist, herself. Just yesterday she released a new song titled “Sinking In”. For Old Dominion, “Young” is the first song the group has ever recorded that they didn’t write.
When you go to a concert or hear a song on the radio, the singer is always the center of attention. Songland gives four songwriters the opportunity to enjoy the spotlight for a change, allowing them to pitch their song to already established artists, like Old Dominion. It demonstrates the long, complicated process that is involved with songwriting.
Alongside Old Dominion in the song-editing process were three Grammy-winning/nominated songwriters in Ester Dean, Ryan Tedder, and McAnally, who appear on each episode of the show. Dean has written a number of smash hits including “Super Bass” by Nikki Minaj, “Firework” by Katy Perry and many by Rhianna including “Rude Boy”.
Tedder has a long resume when it comes to songwriting and producing. He has contributed to three Grammy-winning albums including Taylor Swift’s 1989 and Adele’s 21 and 25. Tedder also has a background it country music, writing songs for Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood and most recently, Thomas Rhett, contributing to two tracks on his latest album Center Point Road, “That Old Truck” and “Beer Can’t Fix”. Tedder has also had three singles reach the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 as the lead singer of his pop-rock group, One Republic, “Apologize”, “Good Life” and “Counting Stars”.
Shane McAnally is one of the most established writers in country music. He has written number-one hits for multiple artists including Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Dierks Bentley, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, and many others. McAnally has racked up a number of awards with singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves, including the 2019 Grammy Awards for Best Country Song (“Space Cowboy”) and Album of the Year (Golden Hour).
Old Dominion’s new self-titled album comes out on October 25th. The Nashville-based group has released five songs from the album thus far, including the lead single, “Make It Sweet”.
To keep up with Old Dominion, follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
“Young” is now available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a look below and check out more recently released music on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.
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