The Jason Aldean of 2024 is a megastar with more than 25 No. 1 songs to his name and awards statues that require multiple mantels.

But it wasn't always shiny and easy.

Aldean had a tooth-and-nail climb to success, and it was often dark, he recalls in a new interview with Taste of Country Nights: On Demand.

Before "Hicktown" became a hit, he says it was really bad.

"I was starving, I had a brand new baby. My oldest daughter had just been born, I didn't have any money," Aldean remembers. Daughter Keeley Ann Williams was born in 2003.

"I wasn't thinking longterm. It was like, 'I need to get this song going just so I can generate some money to, like, keep from losing my house and to be able to buy diapers.' Those kind of things."

He worked hard to provide, but never could have imagined how far his star would rise.

"For it to turn into what it has, I never ... I dunno, maybe I was just kind of naïve to the point of thinking that it could ever become this."

Truly, he was just trying to survive day to day. He'd go on to sign a record deal with his longtime label home Broken Bow Records in 2005, releasing his debut album and debut single, "Hicktown," that year, too.

"I was very much small potatoes, going, 'I need to make 5 grand, so I need to make 5 grand today somehow, how does this happen?' It was more like survival," Aldean admits.

But in 2024, a now 47-year-old Aldean can't even count his studio albums on his fingers, and he lost the ability to count his hits long ago. He's remarried and has four kids now, 3 girls and a son, and he has no plans to retire from music, despite being quite comfortable.

He tells us that if the Rolling Stones can still play at their age, so can he.

Evan Paul is the host of Taste of Country Nights, a syndicated radio show heard on more than 130 country radio stations nationwide, every night from 7PM to midnight. He plays the best new country music and interviews today's top stars, like Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Dan + Shay, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton, Lady A, + more!

 

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Jason Aldean exploded onto the country music scene in 2005 with his first hit "Hicktown," which shot to No. 10 on the country charts. Since then, the megastar has released 11 studio albums and has had 27 songs reach No. 1. Let's take a look back at a young Jason Aldean, when he was just getting started.

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The best Jason Aldean songs are spread out among his 11 studio albums. Find singles and deep cuts from his self-titled debut album high on this list, right alongside more recent hits and duets from Macon and Georgia.

Taste of Country asked readers for input and did a deep dive into Aldeans' full catalog of songs to identify those worthy of this top songs list, and those that simply aren't. Spoiler alert: A few radio singles are missing, and several album tracks rank inside the Top 20. Sales and chart success helped us round out the Top 50. Do you agree with No. 1?

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