Jessie James Decker
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Jessica Rose James Decker (born April 12, 1988) is an American
country pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...
singer. At age 15, after auditioning for and being rejected by most of the country labels in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
, Decker began working with Carla Wallace of Big Yellow Dog Music. One of her songs attracted the attention of
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
, which offered her a recording contract. She released her debut album, ''
Jessie James Jessica Rose James Decker (born April 12, 1988) is an American country pop singer. At age 15, after auditioning for and being rejected by most of the country labels in Nashville, Tennessee, Decker began working with Carla Wallace of Big Yello ...
'', in 2009. A few years later in 2013, she starred with her husband
Eric Decker Eric Thomas Decker (born March 15, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football and college baseball at the University of Minnesota, and was dra ...
, a wide receiver in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, in the E! reality show '' Eric & Jessie: Game On''. On April 18, 2014, Decker released an EP through
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
entitled '' Comin' Home''. On
Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...
in 2017, she released a five-track EP, ''
Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
'', followed by a collaboration on
Austin John Winkler Austin John Winkler (born October 25, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known for being the former lead singer of the American rock band Hinder. Since his departure from Hinder, Winkler has continued his career, but as a s ...
's 2016 song titled "Howlin'" from his debut EP
Love Sick Radio ''Love Sick Radio'' is the debut EP by former Hinder lead singer Austin John Winkler. The EP was released April 22, 2016. Summary After Austin announced his departure from Hinder in November 2013, he quickly stated he would be continuing his ca ...
and released a surprise live EP on June 9, 2017, titled ''
Blackbird Sessions '' Blackbird Sessions'' is the fifth release overall and fourth extended play by American country music singer Jessie James Decker. The EP was released on June 9, 2017 through Epic Records. The collection was recorded at the titular Blackbird Stu ...
''. On October 13, 2017, she released her second full-length album and first for Epic Records, ''
Southern Girl City Lights ''Southern Girl City Lights'' is the sixth release overall and second studio album by American country music artist Jessie James Decker. It is Decker's first full-length album since her self-titled debut album in 2009. It was released on October ...
''. ''
On This Holiday '' On This Holiday ''is the third studio album from American country musician Jessie James Decker. It is her seventh release overall and first full-length Christmas album, following her 2015 EP '' This Christmas''. The album is a collection of Chri ...
'', her first full-length Christmas album, was released on October 26, 2018. On September 30, 2019, Decker stated, "I have a new chapter that's about to happen with my music...I have new music coming out soon. I'm working on an EP that’ll be dropping soon." On September 18, 2020, Decker gave '' ET'' an update after signing a new record deal with Atlantic/Warner music in January. She revealed that while she was supposed to go on tour with new music this summer, it got postponed due to the pandemic. She says "I will be putting out a Christmas single, so I will have a Christmas song out in November, but as far as my album I've been working on and recording, we actually decided today we're going to hold off. We're going to wait for the top of the year so we can do it right, 'cause I'm really excited about it." On October 22, 2021 she released the EP The Woman I've Become The project spawned a headlining tour, which wrapped in August, 2022 after hitting major cities across the nation. On September 30, 2022 “Grow Young With You” is the first official track from the Big Yellow Dog/Atlantic Records/Warner Music Nashville recording artist since the release of her The Woman I’ve Become EP in 2021.


Early life

Decker was born Jessica Rose James on April 12, 1988, in
Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...
, in the Italian
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
of
Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...
on an American military base to her mother, Karen Johnson and father Robert James. Her stepfather, Steve Parker, who Karen married in the early 2000s, served in the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
. As a result, she lived in
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
,
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, and
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
. She graduated from Warner Robins High School in 2007. Decker has two younger siblings, Sydney Rae Bass (born 1991) and John James (born 1994), two step siblings, Ashley and Alex Parker (from Steve's first marriage) and two siblings-in-law,
Anthony Bass Anthony Edward Bass (born November 1, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Chica ...
and Alison James (formerly Green). Decker began singing when she was two. She won her first talent contest in
Baker, Louisiana Baker is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in East Baton Rouge Parish. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area, and had a population of 12,455 at the 2020 census, down from 13,895 at the 2010 U.S. census. History Baker ...
, at age nine, singing "
I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart "I Wanna Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" is a country and Western song written and first recorded in 1935 by Ruby Blevins, who performed as Patsy Montana. It was the first country song by a female artist to sell more than one million copies. Backgroun ...
". By then, she had already been writing songs on a plastic guitar and had performed at
SeaWorld SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be ...
and in
Warner Robins, Georgia Warner Robins (typically ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in Houston and Peach counties in the central part of the state. It is currently Georgia's eleventh-largest incorporated city, with an estimated population of 80,308 in th ...
in 2000. At age fifteen, she made weekly trips to Nashville to hone her songwriting skills.


Career


Music

At seventeen, Decker was introduced to Carla Wallace of independent label Big Yellow Dog Music, who helped her with her songwriting and singing. One of her songs, "Gypsy Girl", was written with two writers from Yellow Dog and made it into the hands of record executive David Massey, who brought her to the attention of
L.A. Reid Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer. He is the founder and served as co-chairman of Hitco Entertainment. He also previously served as the chairman and CEO of Ep ...
. She auditioned for Reid by singing her song "My Cowboy", produced by
John Rich John Rich (born January 7, 1974) is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country music band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist. After d ...
. Decker soon signed a contract with
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
. Even though she originally thought that she would be producing a country record, Decker was later told to record a pop album by record executives. She also claimed to have been asked to sound like pop singer
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
. She described the recording process as "intense" due to the genre crossing. She described herself in an interview as "a country girl at heart," having grown up listening to this music. Her debut album, ''Jessie James'', was released in August 2009, debuting at number 23 on the ''Billboard'' 200. It was a fusion between country and pop music, with more emphasis placed on the latter as dictated by her label. The album also featured writing credits from Decker and seasoned pop songwriter
Kara DioGuardi Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi (; born December 9, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, music publisher, A&R executive, and singer. She writes music primarily in the pop rock genre. DioGuardi has worked with many popular artists; sales o ...
and
Mitch Allan Mitchell Allan Scherr, known professionally as Mitch Allan, is an American record producer, songwriter, and musician. He has written and produced songs for artists such as Demi Lovato, Third Eye Blind, Miley Cyrus, Carlie Hanson, Jason Derulo, Pi ...
, among others. The album received mixed receptions from critics.
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
received the album positively, but found that despite being marketed as such and featuring some country-influenced production, the music on the album was a far cry from country music. ''
Slant Slant can refer to: Bias *Bias or other non-objectivity in journalism, politics, academia or other fields Technical * Slant range, in telecommunications, the line-of-sight distance between two points which are not at the same level * Slant d ...
'' thought that the album only superficially pulled together influences from pop, country and hip-hop while failing to pander to any of those audiences. The album's first single, " Wanted", produced by Allan, had been released in April and peaked at number 40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Decker later performed in the Middle East with singer
Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...
and comedian
Carlos Mencia Ned Arnel "Carlos" Mencía (born October 22, 1967) is a Honduran-American comedian, writer, and actor. His style of comedy is often political and involves issues of race relations, Latin American culture, criminal justice, and social class. He i ...
for US troops stationed overseas. Decker began working on her second album, ''Sweet American Dreams'', in 2010, which was initially planned to be released in late summer. The album was to have the same country-pop sound as her debut, with Decker being given more leeway by Mercury in incorporating country sounds. The first single, "Boys in the Summer", released in June, was a minor country success but failed to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Having struggled with accepting her career path as a pop singer, Decker told her label in the midst of preparations for her album that she did not want to be a pop artist and wanted to record country music. After negotiations, Massey asked Mark Wright from
Show Dog-Universal Music Show Dog Nashville is an American independent record label specializing in country music artists. It was founded in 2005 by singer Toby Keith. It was later merged with Universal South Records into Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009 until ...
, which had facilitated the country release of "Boys in the Summer" in November, to help Mercury/IDJ launch Decker in the country genre. Decker began recording in April 2011.https://www.twitter.com/iamjessiejames/status/54724151990165504 "When You Say My Name" was produced by Wright and released on January 31, 2012. "Military Man" was released on May 22, 2012. She was removed from the Show Dog Universal roster in 2013. Decker released an extended play, ''Comin' Home'', on April 18, 2014, which hit number one on iTunes top albums chart and debuted in the top 5 on ''Billboard''s top country albums chart. Decker was featured on former
Hinder Hinder is an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, formed in 2001 by lead singer Austin John Winkler, guitarist Joe "Blower" Garvey, and drummer Cody Hanson with bassist Mike Roden and guitarist Mark King joining in 2003, solidifying ...
lead singer
Austin John Austin John Winkler (born October 25, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known for being the former lead singer of the American rock band Hinder. Since his departure from Hinder, Winkler has continued his career, but as a s ...
's debut solo EP ''
Love Sick Radio ''Love Sick Radio'' is the debut EP by former Hinder lead singer Austin John Winkler. The EP was released April 22, 2016. Summary After Austin announced his departure from Hinder in November 2013, he quickly stated he would be continuing his ca ...
'', on the track "Howlin'". The EP was released April 22, 2016. She finished the ''Lights Down Low'' tour. On her new label Epic she released a five-track EP, ''Gold'', on February 17, 2017, and released a surprise live EP on June 9, 2017, titled ''Blackbird Sessions''. On October 13, 2017, she released her second full-length album and first for Epic Records, ''Southern Girl City Lights''. On November 27, 2017, Decker appeared in "12 Days of Cracker Barrel", ending on December 8. Each day got a new YouTube video in the style of the original 12 Days of Christmas song. On April 3, 2022, Decker performed "America the Beautiful", in front of a nearly 80.000 crowd at WWE's WrestleMania 38, at AT&T Stadium, in Dallas, Texas.


Reality television

In 2013, Decker starred with her husband
Eric Decker Eric Thomas Decker (born March 15, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football and college baseball at the University of Minnesota, and was dra ...
, a wide receiver in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, in the E! reality show '' Eric & Jessie: Game On.'' It ended its run in April 2014, but returned in September 2017. It ran for 20 episodes in three seasons. On September 8, 2022, Decker was announced as a contestant on season 31 of ''Dancing with the Stars''. She is partnered with
Alan Bersten Alan Bersten (born 26 May 1994) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer. He was a contestant on the tenth season of ''So You Think You Can Dance'' and is currently a professional dancer and choreographer on ''Dancing with the Stars ...
. She finished in 10th place.


Kittenish

Decker launched a clothing line called Kittenish online. Kittenish opened its first physical location in
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, Tennessee. A second branch is located near Destin, Florida.


Musical style and influences

Decker co-wrote the majority of the songs on her debut album. The album is of a country-pop fusion genre, revealing her taste for not only country music, but pop and soul music as well. The beat for "Blue Jeans" was a recording of Decker stepping; this talent stems from her time on the step team at her school. Initially, she faced opposition for her soul music-inspired vocal runs when trying to get signed in Nashville. She has listed
Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
,
Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, '' Swe ...
,
Bobbie Gentry Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is a retired American singer-songwriter, who was one of the first female artists in America to compose and produce her own material. Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 with her Sou ...
,
Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...
,
Shelby Lynne Shelby Lynne (born Shelby Lynn Moorer, October 22, 1968) is an American singer and songwriter and the older sister of singer-songwriter Allison Moorer. The success of her pop rock album '' I Am Shelby Lynne'' (1999) led to her winning the Grammy ...
, and
Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...
as her musical influences. She has said that she initially wanted a career similar to those of Gentry and Twain, who were signed to pop labels but found crossover success in both country and pop music.


Personal life

On June 22, 2013, Jessie married
Eric Decker Eric Thomas Decker (born March 15, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football and college baseball at the University of Minnesota, and was dra ...
, an NFL wide receiver who at the time played for the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
. In September 2013, it was announced that the couple was expecting their first child together. She gave birth to their daughter, Vivianne Rose, in March 2014 in Colorado. Decker gave birth to their second child, Eric Thomas II, in September 2015. Decker announced on October 9, 2017, that they were expecting a third child, another boy. She gave birth to their third child, Forrest Bradley, in March 2018.


Discography


Studio albums


Extended plays


Singles

Notes:


Holiday singles


Music videos


Other appearances


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Decker, Jessie James 1988 births American expatriates in Italy American women country singers American country singer-songwriters American women pop singers Country pop musicians Living people Mercury Records artists People from Warner Robins, Georgia Show Dog-Universal Music artists 21st-century American women singers Country musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) 21st-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) American contraltos