Jaden Hamilton was raised on a homestyle mix of classic country and hard rock, and was surrounded by sugarcane fields and tread-marked dirt roads in his hometown of Prairieville, Louisiana before pursuing a career in country music.
Turning to TikTok, where he posted videos of his original songs, covers, and challenges with his girlfriend, the young musician started growing a rapid and loyal fanbase on the platform, amassing over 370K followers to date and the number keeps on climbing.
“I was blown away by how many people enjoyed it and wanted to see more. So that was really motivating and it was kind of an eye-opener that I could maybe make something out of it and make music my life and my career like I’ve always wanted to,” Hamilton tells CS Country of his overnight TikTok fame.
After two weeks enrolled at Louisiana State University, and faced with a decision to either finish college or accept an invitation from a pop producer to move to L.A., Hamilton went with option three and relocated to Nashville, Tennessee. Hamilton, whose music is inspired by the authenticity and neo-traditional style of George Strait and Cody Johnson, signed a record deal with Sony Music Nashville back in October and is managed by The Erv Woolsey Company in partnership with Regulator Management.
“I’m so excited to get the news out that I’ve signed with Sony Nashville. I’m grateful to be apart of such a supportive team that works with many artist that I look up to,” says Hamilton in a statement. “It’s a dream come true to be able to share this news and release my EP. I’m super proud of these songs and I think they capture who I am as an artist.”
Releasing his debut EP Ain’t That Something the same day as his signing announcement, Celeb Secrets Country hops on a phone call with Hamilton to talk about his debut EP, how TikTok launched his career and what his plans are for 2021.
Keep scrolling for our full Q&A with Jaden below and make sure to let us know what you think of the EP by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @CS_Country. You can connect with Jaden by following him on both TikTok and Instagram.
Photo credit: Matthew Berinato
Celeb Secrets Country: We’re really excited about talking to you and about your upcoming project. For starters, congratulations on “Ain’t That Something!” How excited are you for the EP to finally drop?
Jaden Hamilton: “I’m really excited. I love all of these songs. I think a lot of people can relate to them.”
CSC: How does this EP differ from the three songs you dropped this past March?
JH: “Well I think they’re both a little personal. They’re both stories. ‘Thinking About You’ is about my girlfriend. I didn’t write ‘Long Night Letting Go’ but I wrote the other three. ‘Found Myself In A Country Song’ is really personal and kind of talks about how important country music has been in my life and how it’s helped me through a lot. I hope a lot of people can relate to that and I hope it speaks to other people like how country music has spoken to me.”
CSC: For sure. Well, out of the four tracks, do you have a particular favorite?
JH: “Personally, my favorite is ‘Found Myself In A County Song’ just because of how true it is to me and how much country music has helped me and gotten me through so much.”
CSC: Right, well, it’s a great song. I know you touched on this a little bit about how you want fans to have a similar experience with your music as you did with other country music. But is there anything else in particular you want fans to take away from these particular four songs after listening?
JH: “I think ‘Long Night Letting Go’ is just really about true love. And I didn’t write that song, it’s a great song — I wish I did write it. I think it’s about true love and how if you love somebody, you don’t necessarily have to let go and that’s kind of what the song is about. Like you hold as long as you can to that person. And there are a lot of true real life circumstances that can relate to that song I think.”
CSC: Most definitely. It’s a great song and the videos you’ve released so far are so cute, we love them. So what was your favorite part about making the EP? I know you’re out in Nashville, so did you make majority of it there?
JH: “Yeah, everything was recorded here. The ones that I wrote were written here. My favorite part about it was singing them and writing them and the recording process.”
CSC: That’s so cool. What is your creative process like?
JH: “As far as writing, a lot of times an idea comes to me and if it just flows and I’ll bring it into the room with the guys I’m writing with. If it’s a great song it will just flow and feel natural. I usually like to have a good idea or maybe even some of the song written. Then I’ll bring it in and pitch the idea to whoever I’m writing with and if they like it we’ll write it and kind of just got from there.”
CSC: Very cool. So social media, TikTok in particular, was really the fire that helped ignite your music career. My question to you is when you posted those first few videos of you singing on TikTok, did you expect any of what was to follow?
JH: “No, not at all. It was definitely a shock. I was blown away by how many people enjoyed it and wanted to see more. So that was really motivating and it was kind of an eye-opener that I could maybe make something out of it and make music my life and my career like I’ve always wanted to.”
@jadenhamiltonmusic##greenscreenvideo thank you TikTok and everyone for everything you’ve helped me accomplish! ##jadenhamilton ##TikTokFood ##viral ##fyp ##trending
CSC: I think that’s super inspiring for a lot of people who want to take that leap of faith to pursue their passions. Do you have any advice for someone who, you know, is feeling a little bit boxed in or like they can’t necessarily pursue what they want to pursue because of X, Y, and Z?
JH: “I think if you put your mind to it, just about anything within realm of what is humanly possible, you can achieve. Hard work and determination is really the recipe for success in whatever you want to do.”
CSC: That’s great advice. What can fans, readers, viewers expect aside from the EP. I know obviously it’s a little bit tough with COVID and you know, tours, aren’t really a viable option in the near future. But do you have anything else planned, any videos or online performances that fans can look forward to?
JH: “We’re doing a lot acoustics videos of three of my songs, four of my songs actually. Those will be on YouTube sometime soon. So yeah, just some acoustic videos and then I’m always writing always making music and hopefully sometime next year we can release some more.”
CSC: Last but not least, we are Celeb Secrets Country and our readers love getting the behind the scenes scoop. So I am wondering if there’s anything that fans might not know about you that you would like to share?
JH: “Um, I think something cool that people know about me is that I have a pet fox.”
CSC: Oh, no way! What!?
JH: “Yeah. I think not a lot of people know. Not a lot of people have pet foxes. I think it’s cool.”
CSC: Is it with you in Nashville?
JH: “No she’s back in Oklahoma, but I think we’re going to bring her up probably the first of the year.”
CSC: Wow. How big do those get?
JH: “Not much bigger than a big cat or I guess like a small dog.”
CSC: Wow. That is so cool. That’s a great secret and maybe your fans all start getting pet foxes.
JH: “Yeah, haha.”
Listen to Jaden’s “Ain’t That Something” EP below:
