Joe Nichols Celebrates 5th #1
Most of the country may be under the “polar vortex,” but in the world of Joe Nichols, it’s “Sunny & 75!” In fact, on a day when the temperature in Nashville was in the 20s, Joe came to town wearing a short sleeve shirt. He was definitely feeling warm & fuzzy at CMA Headquarters.
Joe commented on the irony of the song title as he spoke with reporters: “I think it’s funny that in the summer, I got a lot of tweets that said, ‘It’s Sunny & 75,’ and now I’m getting tweets from people saying ‘F-U Joe Nichols! It’s cold and freezing.’ That just shows the range of emotions in country music. I’m gonna change my Twitter handle to ‘FU Joe Nichols.'”
This was Joe’s first single on the new Red Bow record label. He said he felt a new attitude on this project: “I never felt incredibly free to do what I wanted before. With this album, I didn’t feel that. Matter of fact I started this record the next day after my contract expire with Show Dog. I didn’t want to waste any time. I did it with my own money.”
A few weeks ago, Joe & his wife announced they’re expecting their second child together. Joe talked about that: “We’ve always had to temper expectations with pregnancy. It’s been hard for Heather staying pregnant. We’ve had a lot of miscarriages before the first baby came along. I’m thankful that it’s been fairly uneventful so far, knock on wood. The news is great, and it’s been great every day since.”
What do you think about when you first heard this song? “It scared me. The #1 thing I hate hearing is when the demo sounds better than the actual record. That was my fear. It’s such a rangy song, little bit of a challenge to make it mine. But it opened possibilities for the rest of the record. It was meaningful for the whole record.”
Does that change your view on what you can record? “Oh yeah, it changed the whole record. I don’t have to cut a song that uses part of my register. It does have a broad range, it’s hard to pull off, and I have to be careful where I put it in my show. Because it changes so much. You’ve got to hear the verses, and then belt the chorus. Hopefully the song has been a bigger success than I could have hoped for. The guys who wrote it deserve it.
Let’s look ahead to the next single, “Yeah.” I remember this was going to be the first single: “It just sounds like a hit. I will also say there’s deeper meaning. I started the record with this song, the first song I recorded with my own money, so I’d like to get my money back. Also gave me a chance to show prospective labels what I was thinking about. Then I got Sunny & 75. But with Yeah you can hear the traditional country in my voice, with pop production, like Sunny & 75. So I think we have a good chance.”
Compare how you feel now with your previous #1s: The first few #1s we had, I felt less gratitude because I thought it was easier than it is. I look back at that guy and want to smack him in the face. It isn’t that easy. I ended a long relationship with Universal South that had given me stability. Ending that partnership and starting a new one, it made all those scary decisions seem right. I hoped we’d have success, but didn’t expect it, given it had been over a year since my last single. It was a gut check, followed by a pat on the back. It means more to me now than I did in 2002. It’s extra special because it follows the scariest time in my life.”
Back to the new baby, how is your daughter Dylan feels about having a new sibling? “We pointed at Heather’s belly and asked ‘Do you want a brother or sister?’ and she said, ‘Puppy.’ That’s gonna be a neat trick. I think she gets it sometimes. I think she’ll be an outstanding older sister. She gets a lot of attention, so when the new baby comes along, it’ll be interesting how Miss Diva feels.”
Thoughts about the Super Bowl: “It should be an interesting game. First time the #1 offense plays the #1 defense in 25 years. I’m a huge Peyton Manning fan. But my daughter was born in Seattle, so she’s a Seahawks fan. I hope there’ll be a foot of snow on the ground. It’s fun to watch. It’ll probably sunny & 75.”
Back to the song, I wonder if you are more patient now? “The time away from radio helped me grow up a lot. I was immature the way I left the label. I was gone from radio because I had to let my contract expire. It gave me time to think. So I’m thankful the old label handled it like they did, and had time to grow up. It showed me patience. It’s been hard for me to do in my life. I wanted to prove people wrong, but also wanted to start over. I’m not gloating that I’m here today. I’m more thankful to the people who made it happen. The time off was productive for me.”
Category: NEWS
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