Jordan Davis Didn’t Move To Nashville To Be An Artist

Jordan Davis played Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest over the weekend (6/8) for the first time in his career. Backstage before he performed for 60,000 plus fans, Jordan shared his path to country music stardom.

Davis told us, "Long story short, I moved to town to write songs. I had never played with a band; I'd never played a show. I was trying to get a publishing deal and trying to get other artists to cut my songs. I truly started playing music and trying to go after being an artist because I didn't know if that was going to happen."

He added, "I figured I was already this far down the road, so I might as well start trying to make some money gigging around, and here we are. I kind of fell backwards into it, but I'm very grateful I did. I truly never, never dreamed that I would be playing on the stage that I'm getting to play on tonight."

Davis recently celebrated a number one song ("What My World Spins Around"), making it five songs he's brought to the top of the country charts. Before the party, Jordan told us what the best advice he ever got was.

Davis said, "I got the best piece of advice I got in a very long time. It was probably two or three years into being in Nashville that I still love today, which was, 'Comparison is the theft of all joy.' I truly took that to heart." He added, "I'm not saying that I don't fall victim to that sometimes, but I still truly try to always go back to that. If I ever catch myself looking at another artist, other writers, or whatever, I try to kind of remind myself of that."

He adds, "I'm very grateful, very blessed, but I've also truly had a lot of help. It takes an army, so I'm very grateful for the success, but it's not just me. A lot of people have helped me get here."

Jordan Davis is a first-time Male Artist of the Year nominee at tonight's (5/11) ACM Awards, which will air live on Amazon Prime at 7 pm ET and will be hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks.

Jordan told us recently about getting a ACM nomination in the Male Artist category. Hearing his name read as ACM nominations came out, he said, "I'll be honest with you, I haven't been that shocked in a long time. Definitely the most shocked I've been since I started doing music."

Davis added, "I knew I made it through to the last round, but you all see the other nominees in there, some heavy hitters. It was pure shock. In 2019, I was up for New Artist, so I think it goes to show that I've got a great team and great fans, and we made some great music that is connecting with people. The awards are amazing, but to be nominated with those guys is a huge win for me."

Jordan admitted that he has had a little more pep in his step since the nomination. He said, "I think you always want to make sure that you're doing something that's special. I've always been confident in my music, but it feels good to see that it's connecting. I think that's the main thing. We all do this because we love it, and it is a lot easier to do something you love when you see that people are reacting to it."

As Davis crosses his fingers to hear his name read when the winner of the Male Artist Award is announced, we look at him over the past few years. He's come a long way.