Jordan Davis Reveals How Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan & More Inspired His Songwriting For New Album, ‘Bluebird Days’

Louisiana native Jordan Davis is exploring the next chapter of his career with the introspective Bluebird Days, the chart-topping singer-songwriter’s sophomore album. With five No. 1 singles already under his belt, including his most recent hit “What My World Spins Around,” Davis has figured out that writing from the most honest place is what has the most impact.

Bluebird Days features 17 tracks, a panorama of reflections of the past, meditations on the present, and hopes for the future. Davis co-wrote 15 track on the album, including the double-platinum multi-week number one CMA Song of the Year “Buy Dirt” featuring Luke Bryan.

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That award-winning song changed Davis’ approach to songwriting. “I think it truly showed me that writing from a pretty honest place is what’s going to impact the most,” Davis told Music Mayhem. “I think it showed me that when I write with that group, when I write with Matt [Jenkins], Josh [Jenkins], and Jacob [Davis], we know how to write a song and we know how to also write a song that will probably work in the sense of it’ll sound good live, it’ll feel good, have a cool little catchy melody, but if we dig in a little harder and right from a honest place, a song that’s going to hit somebody in the heart – those are much more life giving, not just us as songwriters, but I think is to listeners as well.”

Davis opened up to Music Mayhem about how his parents’ divorce inspired the album’s title track, the story behind his new single “Next Thing You Know,” and more.

Jordan Davis Says “Bluebird Days” Was A Tough Song To Record

The “Singles You Up” singer was 17 years old and getting ready to go to Baton Rouge for college when his parents divorced. That pivotal moment was the inspiration for “Bluebird Days,” which Davis says was “tough to record.”

In the chorus, Davis sings: “They used to be sunshine and roses / Their heads were way over their heels / Said they do, then they don’t / Ended up dancing right through a minefield / ‘Cause the truth about livin’ a lie is / That the lie never outlives the truth / Two hearts fell in love / And two hearts grew apart / They went their separate ways / And our bluebird days went dark.”

He Has Regrets From Younger Years

Davis says he regrets how he handled that season in his life and how it affected his younger sister. “I think at the time I took the selfish route,” admits Davis, who thought the divorce wasn’t going to affect him since he was leaving for college. “I’m going to Baton Rouge next year, so I’m going to have fun,” Davis told himself. “That really wasn’t the way to look at it, not thinking about how it affected my sister.”

His younger sister is five years younger and was still at home in the midst of the conflict while Jordan and his brother, frequent co-writer Jacob Davis, were starting a new chapter of their lives.

”I think me and my brother still kick ourselves for not checking in and helping out on that as much as we should have, but I think we all grew from it and it truly wasn’t to throw anybody under the bus.” For Davis, the song is not only a reflection of the past, but a cautionary tale for him and his wife, Kristen. “This is kind of a reminder of some of the side effects of it as well. I think it’s something for me and Kristen to look at and say, hey, nothing’s ever that bad. Let’s fix this and make sure we never have to get there. Cause marriage is tough, relationships are tough. That’s not a route we want to take.”

The song on the album that Davis says best defines his life now is his latest number one hit, “What My World Spins Around,” that the track helps tie the album together by nailing in the past, present and future views. “I’m having a good time, I’m having fun playing music, I’m having fun getting to tour the country and trying to make new fans, but at the end of the day, I would hang this up in a heartbeat if my family needed me to.”

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Davis Took Inspiration From Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan & More When Writing His New Album

As Davis began to approach writing for his sophomore album, he looked to the artists who have influenced him for ideas about how to evolve as an artist. From Kris Kristofferson and Eric Church to Kenny Chesney and Luke Bryan, he’s reviewed their discographies for inspiration.

“I go back and look at how they did their records, what did they change, where did they grow?” says Davis. “I’ve definitely tried to be a little more honest and vulnerable in what I’m saying.” He admits that he’s not sure why, but that it may come from a combination of factors. “I don’t know if that’s just me getting old,” he laughs, “or having kids and having a family and having some priorities get shifted around or just going back and listening to the guys that I grew up listening to, songwriters that meant a lot to me, kind of dissecting what they were saying.” 

Davis wrote his new single “Next Thing You Know” with Chase McGill, Greylan James, and Josh Osborne, with James’ idea about “walking into a bar and buying a girl a drink, asking her to dance. Next thing you’re falling in love.” Davis joked about how those days were behind him, having two kids. “We (Josh Osborne, Chase McGill) started talking about how fast our kids are growing up. I have a three-year-old and feel like she was born yesterday and we kind of flipped it to that just how fast life goes,” recalls Davis. “I actually said, I think it’d be cool if we started this song at the beginning of the falling in love and we ended it at the inevitable, which is all of it for all of us.”

“Money Isn’t Real” Is Jordan Davis’ First Outside Cut

One of the standout tracks on Bluebird Days is “Money Isn’t Real,” which is Davis’ first-ever outside cut. Written by Jake Mitchell, Jameson Rodgers, Josh Thompson, and Sarah Turner, the song tells a story that Davis had been trying to write for three years.

As a teenager and young man, Davis says he let money drive a lot of his decisions. “I let it pick my college degree path [and] just looked at starting salaries for getting out of college and whatever the highest one was, that’s what I went with,” he admits. “I didn’t graduate in it because I can’t pass a physics class to save my life, but I had no interest in geology.”

Over time, Davis has learned that more money isn’t always a solution. “I’ve been successful in songwriting and that doesn’t fix a lot of things. There’s a lot more things that are kind of underlying that I still struggle with and money has nothing to do with it,” says Davis. 

One of those things is his temper, which he wrote about on the track “Short Fuse.” He concedes that money has nothing to do with him having a short temper, “that’s just me being a jerk.” Davis’ self-awareness and desire for personal development shines throughout the album.

The Album Also Features A Duet With Danielle Bradbery

In addition to the collaboration with Luke Bryan on “Buy Dirt,” Bluebird Days also includes a duet with Danielle Bradbery. Davis says that he immediately thought of her while he was writing “Midnight Crisis” and that she was the only person he reached out to about it. “I just thought she’d be able to crush it. She could really sing anything, but this kind of felt like Danielle, the second verse/ I loved that it wasn’t like a lovey song. It was kind of more of a sad missing you song… she absolutely crushed it.”

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Jordan Davis’ Bluebird Days Track List

Produced by Paul DiGiovanni

Additionally, Jordan Davis is currently on the road with Thomas Rhett for the international leg of his Bring the Bar To You Tour. For more information on upcoming tour dates and to purchase tickets, visit jordandavisofficial.com/tour.