Jameson Rodgers says one of his favorite songs on his new album is a hopeless heartbreaker called “One Day.” The mid-tempo song is a jagged blade that pierces the chest and twists with the final line of each chorus.
It’s the kind of song you’d expect from someone who’s been through a breakup recently, but the newly married Rodgers hasn’t. He met his wife, Sarah Turner, at the Bluebird Café 10 years ago; the got engaged in October of 2020 and wed in September.
Rodgers started “One Day” with co-writer Will Bundy at a writers’ retreat during the COVID-19 pandemic, which means he was either planning a proposal or planning a wedding at the time. Neither brings a mindset that typically inspires lines such as the George Jones-esque “One day I’ll get over you / One day I’m gonna die.”
“I don’t know why, I just love writing songs about a girl breaking a guy’s heart,” Rodgers tells Taste of Country Nights during a conversation about his new album, Bet You’re From a Small Town, writing good and bad songs with Luke Combs and the Jason Aldean song he wishes he could have back.
Rodgers relied on a similar theme for “Some Girls,” his debut single and Country Airplay chart-topper from 2020. Those who’ve streamed his album might have needed a moment and a few tissues to finish “Good Dogs,” a ballad that’s about a very different kind of heartbreak. It all works toward making the celebratory “Cold Beer Calling My Name” — a No. 1 collaboration with Combs — feel like the party of the century.
The seeds for that collaboration were planted in 2016, before Combs had his first hit with “Hurricane.” Rodgers was a songwriter trying to figure out whether he could be an artist too when the soon-to-be-headliner reached out on Instagram to say he liked a song called “Midnight Daydream.” He told Taste of Country that they became friends and co-writers after that, so when Combs started to tour, Rodgers was top of mind for an opening act.
“That opened up a million doors that I didn’t even know existed,” the Batesville, Miss., native shared in August of 2020.
Like Combs, Rodgers signed to River House and Columbia Records, and, like, Combs his first two singles have hit No. 1. There’s a little bit of bad with the good that he talks about during this new interview with ToC Nights; there’s also a little bit of regret in the way of that Aldean song.
Country Artists Who’ve Gotten Engaged or Married in 2021:
These country artists are hearing wedding bells in 2021! Jimmie Allen and his fiancée Alexis Gale are among those who’ve tied the knot this year, while Brooke Eden and her longtime girlfriend Hilary Hoover moved from dating to engaged. Keep reading to learn about more of 2021’s country music weddings and engagements: