Over the weekend I had the opportunity to interview an up and coming country artist by the name of Jamie Atkins! He wrote a song called Senior Year which became an overnight sensation! This song really hits home for me since I will be going into my Senior year this coming school year. Please enjoy our interview:
1.) Tell me about yourself (where do you live, how old are you, etc.)
I have moved around a lot but I currently live in the city where I was born, Jacksonville, FL. I am 19 years old and I just graduated from high school. When I’m not writing or playing music, I like huntin’, takin my Jeep off road and ridin’ four-wheelers with my buddies.
2.) What is 1 thing you want new listeners to know about you?
I want new listeners to know that I am not a pop-country guy. A big issue in country music right now is that some of the stuff you hear on country radio doesn’t sound country at all. I like to stay true to my roots.
3.) How’d you come up with the song Senior Year?
My first single, “Senior Year”, has really surprised me. I originally had no intentions of recording it. During my senior year of high school, I decided to participate in the Mr. Fleming Island High School pageant. For the talent portion of the pageant, I wanted to perform an original song and I wanted to have a song that everyone in the audience would be able to relate to, so I sat down one night and wrote a song about the last year of high school and some of the experiences we go through. The song was surprisingly a huge success and a lot of people told me that I needed to record it so it could be our class song to be played at graduation. I released it as a single and a few months later, I had the idea to film a music video for the song. I can’t believe how far it has gone and how much support I have gotten from it. It has been a wild journey to say the least.
4.) Was your song Senior Year inspired by Randy Housers song Senior Year?
No, I released my song, “Senior Year”, before I ever knew about Randy Houser’s song, “Senior Year”. When I released mine, it took about a week or so to post to iTunes so I actually found out about Randy Houser’s song by searching for my song on iTunes to see if it had been posted yet. I thought it was funny because if you look at the release dates, mine was released March 10, 2016, and Randy Houser’s was released March 11, 2016. Nonetheless, the two songs are pretty different but I think both paint a great picture of what it’s like to go through your last year of high school. It’s pretty cool to think that Randy Houser has a similar song because he is one of my favorite artists; his song, “Boots On”, is actually my ringtone!
5.) What are your hopes for the upcoming year?
In the past few months, so many awesome things have happened in my career and I can only hope that I can continue to release music that people can relate to. I am planning to move to Nashville soon and I am very excited to pursue some of the opportunities that I have been given. I truly believe that God paves the road for us in our lives and everything happens for a reason. I will continue to follow his path for me and enjoy this ride.
6.) Since you released the music video for Senior Year have you noticed any changes with your audience or any opportunities that have come from the video being released?
Yes! It’s wild because the song was actually out a few months before the music video was even an idea. People who knew about the song had downloaded it and it had gotten around a little bit but nothing compared to the release of the video. I posted the video on YouTube one night around 11pm and the very next day there was a local news reporter waiting for me in the parking lot after school around 2pm. I went on to be featured in just about every media source around town. It was literally an overnight success and I am still trying to process it all. I am so very appreciative for all of the support and recognition it was gotten me.
7.) If you could only have 1 artist on your phone to listen to, who would it be?
That’s a tough one, but I would have to say Tim McGraw.
8.) What made you want to start singing country music?
I’m not really sure. I have been listening to country music since before I even understood what music was. My mom was always playing country music in the car when I was baby and I was able to sing along to the radio even before I could form a sentence. I started performing when I was 3 years old. I’ve always known that I want to be a country music artist.
9.) What was your first concert you went to?
The first concert I went to was Tim McGraw & Faith Hill’s Soul 2 Soul Tour in 2000.
10.) What is your dream concert lineup?
My dream concert lineup, assuming it’s an arena tour with 3 acts, would probably include (in no particular order): Garth Brooks, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and Tim McGraw.
11.) 2 years ago I got the opportunity to go to Scotland for the summer and I noticed that they put milk in their bowls before cereal so I wondered how other people enjoy their breakfast. So…. Cereal then milk or milk then cereal?
Definitely cereal before milk. You gotta know how much milk you need!
12.) Where did you perform with Chris Janson and how was it?
I had the awesome opportunity of being one of the opening acts for Chris Janson’s Buy Me A Boat Tour at Moosehaven’s American Pride 4th of July celebration in Orange Park, FL. It was an amazing experience, and I got to meet Chris Janson. He’s a pretty cool guy and puts on a great show!
I can’t wait to watch Jaime grow as an artist and see how far he goes!
Here is his music video for “Senior Year”. Below the video are his social media links.
Instagram: @Jaimeatkins19
Twitter: @Jaimeatkins19
Facebook: @JaimeAtkinsMusic