In 2016, Jimmie Allen spent his last $100 to buy a ticket to the CMA Awards as a fan. Two years later, the rising country star stood on stage to present the CMA Award for Single of the Year and is currently holding the No. 1 spot at the top of the Billboard and Mediabase/Country Aircheck Country Airplay charts with his own “Best Shot,” which has been the most Shazamed song in Country music for the past eight consecutive weeks. This impressive feat marks the first time a black artist has garnered a career No. 1 hit with their debut single on Country radio. He joins only Darius Rucker to claim the top spot in Country with a debut single.
“If someone asked me two years ago if I thought that this would be my life today—that I’d be on the red carpet at the CMAs or my song would be the No. 1 song on country radio, I would have honestly said no,” reflects Allen. “Did I think it would happen eventually? Absolutely! Just not this soon. I’m humbled and grateful— it’s such an honor to get my first No. 1 and to know that my song is connecting with people and resonating in a way that hopefully makes us all better people in the end, because that’s really what ‘Best Shot’ is all about.”
Written by Allen, Josh London and JP Williams, “Best Shot” is the first single from Allen’s label debut project Mercury Lane. Described as “a rare honest love song, with a catchy, melodic chorus that flirts with pop-rock power balladry” by Rolling Stone, “Best Shot” is a self-evaluation song that comes from a personal place in Allen’s life and focuses on taking each day to be a better person.
“When you’re a better person, you can be a better husband, wife, parent or friend,” injects Allen. “In writing this song, we just wanted to be honest with ourselves and write something that others can empathize with.”
Dubbed “a self-made man” with “one of the most inspiring tales to come out of music row in the last decade” by CMT, Sounds Like Nashville declares that Allen “is on his way to becoming one of the most important young voices in country music” and Pandora states “it’s only a matter of time before his is a household name.”
Following an incredible co-hosting job, Allen will return for his fourth appearance (since October) on NBC’s TODAY as part of Kathi Lee and Hoda’s “Guys Tell All Panel” on November 28. Fans will have a chance to see Allen on the road this winter playing direct support to Scotty McCreery on his Seasons Change Tour and playing select dates on Kane Brown’s Live Forever Tour. For more information on his tour, go to his website.
You can follow Jimmie Allen on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Bethany Bowman is an entertainer writer for The Tennessee Star. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
