Who Is Adam Sanders? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

The Beginning:

Today we bring you the story behind singer-songwriter Adam Sanders’ journey to country music. Growing up in a small town in North Florida, Sanders’ life revolved around music. “I started singing when I was three years old. I always say music picked me, I didn’t pick music,” declared the singer at the start of our interview.

As a child, Sanders recalls being enamored with music especially, 90s country music. “90s country was sort of my first love and always will be,” shared the artist. Later, he declared his love for one particular country music legend. “When I was about 3 years old, Alan Jackson was like my childhood hero. I really looked at him as who inspired me to move to Nashville.” Of course, the singer now credits his love of music in general for inspiring him, namedropping artists like The Band Camino, Jason Aldean, LANY, and Tim McGraw as some of his favorites.

Interestingly enough, Sanders later realize that Alan Jackson reminded him of his uncle. That same uncle happened to work in country music. His uncle inspired him to begin writing songs at the tender age of 12 years old. “You should look into writing songs and that could be your way into the music industry one day,” said his uncle to Sanders. “The next day I wrote a song with my dad at 12 years old and found that I really enjoyed the process. Fast forward however many years later, that was actually true and that’s how I got my start in the music industry.”

The Turning Point:

Sanders’ dream to move to Nashville to pursue music came to fruition in 2009. “I started writing songs for a living. I was in Nashville for two years and found my first publishing deal. […] and about 6 months into my deal, I had my first cut on a Luke Bryan album.” The singer went on to achieve cuts on albums for the likes of Bryan, Cole Swindell, Dierks Bentley, Dustin Lynch, and more. He even scored two number ones as a songwriter with Swindell’s “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey” and Lynch’s “Hell of a Night.”

Slowly, but surely, Sanders began to cut his teeth in Nashville as an artist too. The singer began releasing songs independently and growing his fanbase organically throughout his years in the industry. “I’m just sort of programmed to think about music all day, every day,” shared the singer, when asked about the challenges of being an independent artist. “For me, it’s never felt like a job because it’s the only thing I ever really wanted.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, Sanders has crossed the threshold of 100 million streams on music platforms. Also, this year, the singer finally got to release a full-length project that his fans have been patiently waiting for. The album, What If I’m Right dropped earlier this month.

“Last year, when I released a song call “Make Em Wanna Change,” I really started to find a common thread about what my fans wanted me to sound like and what they wanted to hear from me. I feel like that was sort of the tip of the iceberg for the album,” shared Sanders.

The singer included a fan-favorite song, “Bible Versus” on his newest project. Another standout track on the record is a collaboration with friend and co-creator Cole Swindell. “Daddy Jesus & Earnhardt” was written during a time when Swindell invited Sanders on his bus to catch the NASCAR races together.

Through conversation about their childhoods, their mutual love of NASCAR, and country music, a song was born. “We thought how cool would it be as a visual to have people in the crowd to hold up a 1 for daddy, a 2 for Jesus, and a 3 for Earnhardt,” began Sanders. “I feel like [the song is] just very honest and true about how I grew up and how a lot of other people grew up. So, I think the relatability of that song is what makes it really resonate with people.”

As the record continues to gain in popularity, Sanders shows no signs of slowing down. The singer is hopeful that another album will be out before the year ends. Sanders is also looking forward to getting back out on the road to connect with country music lovers all across the country!

Connect:

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What If I’m Right is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.