Buddy Jewell became a household name in 2003, when he was the Season 1 winner of the popular TV talent show, Nashville Star. The Arkansas native released two albums on Columbia Nashville following his win, and had several hit singles, including “Help Pour Out the Rain” and “Sweet Southern Comfort,” which both landed in the Top 5.
Since leaving his major record label, Buddy has been anything but idle. The singer-songwriter has continued to make music and tour, both in the United States and abroad, finding a way to make and perform the music he wanted to make, on his terms.
“You adapt or you die,” Buddy reflected to Everything Nash. “If you look back to 2003, when the show was first on, first of all, there were just a handful of reality TV shows, and now they’re on every channel. That’s just when the digital age was getting started. People were still buying CDs, and that’s all shifted more to streaming and downloads. I guess go with the flow or you get lost. So that’s what I’ve done. I’ve always got to continue to make music.
“If it’s not worth recording, then why do it?” he added. “I record stuff that appeals to me, and I hope appeals to my fans.”
With 17 years since winning Nashville Star, the 59-year-old finds it hard to believe that so many years have gone by. Fortunately, thanks to the advice he received from a country music legend early in his career, he has been able to savor most of the moments.
“A lot of it is a blur,” Buddy conceded. “Clint Black gave me some great advice when I first started, He was the mentor on the TV show and he produced my first record. He pulled me aside one day; I think we were in the studio working on the record. He said, ‘I just want to tell you, take time every day just to step back and be objective and look at what’s going on around you. It all happens so fast that you turn around and you’re gone. You’re working all the time.’ I was trying to put that into practice most days. The time has flown by.”
Buddy will release Bluebonnet Highway on Friday, June 26. The record, which is a combination of new songs and new versions of his former hits, is another chapter in Buddy’s musical journey, which has already far exceeded his wildest dreams.
“I’ve done just about anything I wanted to do,” Buddy acknowledged. “I want to have a legitimate No. 1 song. ‘Help Pour Out the Rain’ went to No. 3. ‘Sweet Southern Comfort’ went to No. 3, which money-wise was probably just as good as No. 1. But there’s just something about saying, ‘That’s the top.’ No one can ever take away. No one can ever take away the fact that I won the very first season Nashville Star. I had a No. 1 right there. I would really like to have a No. 1 single and God willing, I will sometime.”
Bluebonnet Highway is available for pre-order at BuddyJewell.com.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Campbell Entertainment
