When Jake Owen looks back at 2011, he can feel pretty awesome about the success he has achieved, which includes scoring his first chart-topping hit with the song ‘Barefoot Blue Jean Night.’

“I think I’ll look back on the highlights and appreciate all that’s come my way,” Owen tells Taste of Country of the past 12 months.

Owen, who turned 30 in August, knows the long road to No. 1 isn’t something that happens overnight. And, you can't do it on your own.

“There have been a lot of people involved in helping me get to where I’m going,” Owen says. “From the guys in the band to my managers and my road manager [to] the guys who wrote ['Barefoot Blue Jean Night'] that changed my life. It’s a big, big community effort. [It's helped me] realize a lot of things … what’s important and what’s not. I’ve had talks with guys in my band. A lot of them have been with me for the past six years, and they’ve seen me go through my little transition as well. It’s been an interesting kind of learning experience, really.”

“When I moved to town, I just moved here by myself,” Owen continues. “I sought out people by myself. I thought it was about me trying to do everything on my own, until I sat back and realized that I can’t do everything on my own. That’s the reason why people have their jobs to do their thing, whether it’s my band leader or whether it’s my bus driver or whether it’s management or the creative [team] at the label — everyone’s got their place. If everyone does their job and I do mine, then I think it will all work out. I now feel like I can accept the award [nominations] and know that this is a team effort. One player doesn’t make the whole team.”

2012 is already shaping up to be an incredible year for Jake, including a tour with Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney to come in the summertime. Owen knows he can continue to succeed as long as he remembers how he got to where he is.

“I think that I have just barely, barely opened up this beautiful box full of things to come, really,” notes Owen. “I’ve been doing this for six years now, and to think that this is the first time in six years that I’ve realized this … I’m kind of disappointed in myself a little bit, that I didn’t know that sooner , that I didn’t dig into this amazing treasure chest of a town sooner.”

The Brothers of the Sun Tour with McGraw and Chesney will kick off in Tampa, Fla. on June 2. Click here for a complete list of dates where the tour will be stopping.

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