Exclusive: Jake Worthington Chats About New Single with Miranda Lambert, the Rise of Neo-Traditional Country & New Music on the Horizon

With the spine-tingling tickle of the ivories, Jake Worthington ushers us in to a classic Texas dance hall with his newly-released tune, 'Hello Shitty Day.'

Bringing with it his signature neo-traditional brand of country music, which echoes the same energy of juggernauts that came before him like Merle Haggard, George Jones and Willie Nelson, 'Hello Shitty Day' finds Worthington joining forces with fellow Texas troubadour and a massive star in her own right, Miranda Lambert, who wrote the tune alongside Dean Dillon, Jessie Jo Dillon and Jesse Frasure.

An all too relatable feeling of accepting the lows and embracing the less than wonderful moments in life, Worthington explains that the song more or less fell into his lap as Lambert sought him out to bring the song to life.

"That was a song that Miranda had sent to me through a text message. A lot of songs tend to get found that way, at least for me; we write songs and send them along to our peers," Worthington explains to Holler. "They sent me the song and, of course, I thought highly of it. I felt like, not only would I be willing to sing ‘Hello Shitty Day,’ but I might have woken up a few times saying it.

"I never thought I'd have a record with a parental advisory on it, but I sure as hell listen to plenty of them," the reigning Texas Country Music Association Male Artist of the Year adds with a laugh.

Much like other contemporary artists like Zach Top, Midland, The Castellows, Randall King, Jenna Paulette and more, Worthington has built his brand on reimagining the beloved trad-country subgenre, while sticking close to its classic storytelling and organic instrumentation. This is exhibited in spades across 'Hello Shitty Day,' which finds both Texans opining on their bad luck as their harmonies spin and dip in perfect time around a dusty ballroom floor.

"Really and truly, the writers that are on it are some of the best songwriters that country music's ever had to lean on. I'm grateful that they gave me an opportunity to sing their song," Worthington adds. "Dean Dillon's one of the best damn songwriters and anchors of our time, but he’s a phenomenal singer as well. I just tried my best at walking that melody."

Additionally, Worthington reflects on working with a superstar like Miranda Lambert, the rise of neo-traditional country in the mainstream and what's to come from the rising singer-songwriter.

It was an absolute dream come true. It was one thing to get to cut it, but getting her to sing her tail off on it was a whole other ball game.

In my mind, I know how things sort of work for me. We’ve all got our own wits about us on how we might sing a song, but I got to watch her walk in and effortlessly blow everybody's mind. She's one of the best, if not the best singer, I've ever sat in a room with.

Singing with Miranda, it felt like I knew her my whole life. I feel like I know what part of the world she comes from and we share the same passion for a song and country music. When you sing with her, she kind of tells you what to sing without saying anything.

To experience that, I just hope I get to do it over and over and over again.

I think the listener is really who to celebrate on that matter. As far as my experience, I’ve felt a whole lot of the opposite over the last 10 years in our musical environment. Call it throwback, call it neo-traditional, call it 90s or whatever you want to call it. I call it country music.

I feel like, as writers and singers, what I'm drawn to is the artist's heart. I don’t think you can fabricate those things. People who do what we do should do what moves us. I think there's a lot of variables these days that can cause a guy or gal to make certain musical decisions that may not be 100% authentic to them. I don't want to be put in those positions and I feel like getting to do this song, in particular, is a step in that direction.

For me, I just like real music. I only know how to make the kind of music I make and sing. I can't help it that I sound like I do. I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing, but that's just what I believe.

I'd like to take the opportunity to say thank you to any and everyone who listened to that first record we put out. We've got the second one about done, and I'm proud to say that we're only going deeper into the roots of my upbringing and musically, which I’m excited for.

I love country music. I only want to continue to make records that, whenever you listen to them, that's what you say it sounds like. That may be a far fetched idea, but that's where my heart is on it.

It was really overwhelming to see the support that we got from that first record in ways that I never felt coming. It’s allowed me to keep at it and keep doing it, and I'm forever grateful for that first impression. I can only hope to set a bar within my own world and hope that folks find themselves wanting to listen to it.

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