Jake Owen, 'The One That Got Away' Connects Singer to Fans

Posted Nov 19th 2012 2:30PM by Erin Duvall
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Jake Owen The One That Got Away Taylor Hill, WireImage

Having a tune top the charts is every artist's dream, but when you're the writer of that song, it's even more special. Jake Owen was fortunate enough to have two back-to-back No. 1s with "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" and "Alone With You." However, as "The One That Got Away" is poised to take the top spot on the charts, the Florida native, who co-wrote the tune with Dallas Davidson and Jimmy Ritchey, is anticipating his first self-penned chart topper.

"When people come up to me and say, 'Man, that song you wrote' -- whatever song it is -- 'is the story of my life,' it just puts a smile on my face," Jake admits. "When I sit down to write a song, I don't ever write it thinking, 'Okay, this so-and-so is going to walk up to me and tell me that.' I just write it because I think it feels good to me. When I get that compliment, it really makes me feel like I'm just like everybody else. I live the same things, feel the same feelings, I get excited and happy about a lot of the same things that other people do, and it's just nice to feel like just another one of the crowd."

The singer-songwriter acknowledges that you can start to feel disconnected in his line of work. "Sometimes this business tends to make you feel like you're somehow a little different than someone else, and I've never felt any different than anyone," he continues. "I'm just the guy with the guitar and the microphone singing. Otherwise, if I didn't have that, I'd be out in the crowd, too, drinking beer."

Another thing that keeps the singer grounded is the impending birth of his first child, a girl whom Jake and his wife plan on naming Pearl. "I'll definitely be the guy that babies his little girl," says the country star. "You only grow up once, and I want my little girl to look back and think how great a dad I was."

Luckily, the performer has two "great" mentors to help him with the adjustment: his own father, as well as his wife Lacey's dad.

"When I first met her father, I was a bit intimidated by him," the singer reveals. "I wanted him to be more friendly to me and buddy-buddy, and he was trying to prove a point: 'I'm not your buddy. I'm the father of this girl you're about to marry. I need to know that you're gonna respect her, love her and take care of her the way that I have loved her and taken care of her, her entire life.' Once I understood where he was coming from, and he understood where I was coming from, we hit it off. He has become one of the great, great additions to my life that I really needed. He does a lot of things different than my dad. I have two dads now. I have my father, and I have my father-in-law. And I get to learn from both of them in order for me to be the best father I can be."

Pearl is expected to make her debut any day now.

Watch Jake & Lacey Talk About Baby Pearl

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