Who Is Jake Worthington? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

Today we are sharing all about singer-songwriter, Jake Worthington’s story behind his journey to country music. The Texas native is a true lover of country music, and it shows in the way he talks about the genre, his songwriting, and of course, his own music.

“Growing up, country music was always around, but my grandpa was a big reason why I love the genre,” began Worthington. At a young age, the singer recalls being infatuated with traditional country artists like Merle Haggard George Jones, and Keith Whitley.

“I come from a background of traditional influence and I’ve always heard it. It was always important to hear these things and to know what comes before you,” he shared, adding later “There’s so many different decades of this stuff that I love. […] As a whole, I think that country music is very, very diverse, and it’s not as one dimensional.”

Barely a teenager, Worthington was already playing music in and around his hometown. “I played in a band there, when I was 13 or 14, that’s when I started at least trying to get into bars and wherever they’d let us make some noise at,” he shared.

“Music is the only thing that ever made sense to me. Nothing else did, and it was always there.”

The Turning Point:

Armed with a true love for country music, Worthington was given the opportunity of a lifetime when he auditioned for the sixth season of the hit show, ‘The Voice.’ “By the time I turned 17 or 18 years old, that was whenever the opportunity to do the TV show came along,” he shared. “That was a great experience and had I not done it, I can’t say I would have evolved into musicality the way I have over the years.”

Worthington auditioned with the iconic song, “Don’t Close Your Eyes.” He was the runner-up of his season, a huge accomplishment that catapulted his young career. “From that point, a lot of doors opened up for a guy,” he began. “I was fortunate enough to have the state of Texas and the independent music scene that we have down there. […] I was able to really get a start going and started writing songs more.”

Worthington spent years honing his craft and songwriting wherever he could, both in Nashville and in Oklahoma. Finally, in 2021, his hard work started to pay off monumentally, as he signed with his label, Big Loud Records.

Today:

Flash forward to present day, Worthington and his fans are awaiting his debut self-titled record, slated for release this Friday, April 7th. The record features 13 original songs, with all but one co-penned by the entertainer. “I’m over the moon, I can’t wait for it to come out. It’s been a long time coming, but right on time I feel like for me,” he shared.

Recently, the singer gave fans a taste of the record, releasing songs, “State You Left Me In” and “Next New Thing.” “We put out them two songs and there’s eleven more coming out on April 7th. We cut the record at Blackbird Studios with Joey Moi. I have not allowed myself to be prideful in a lot of things over the last long while, but I’m pretty dang proud of what we were able to accomplish and do.”

Worthington also shared an appreciation for a song called “Closing Time,” that is featured on the record. Co-written by the singer with Nick Walsh, the song is a true embodiment of the singer’s trajectory as an artist.

“Every song on there brings back a different memory. I can remember writing them, I think “Closing Time” is probably a song that stands out. I had written that song with a buddy of mine, and we been knowing each other for around four or five years. We never wrote together, we just drank whiskey a lot, and I’d always refer to him as my whiskey drinking buddy, and we knew we wanted to do this stuff,” he began. “Once this COVID stuff kind of happened, we wrote a lot over the phone, and that was one of the first songs, if not the first song that we wrote together. I remember that write and I remember how proud we were of that song.”

For Worthington, each and every song on the project speaks to who he is as a person and as an artist. It is a true testament to the last five years or so of his life. “I would hope that the listeners will get to the feeling of the record. This record is genuine to me over the last five years of my life,” he shared. “I think that’s what songs are meant for. I’m incredibly thankful that my kind of singing and my kind of thinking is getting the opportunity to be heard.”

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