K. Michelle Distills Her Bourbon Biz Background Into Fiery Country Release, ‘Jack Daniel’s’: ‘It’s a Feel Record’

During CMA Fest successful 2024, K. Michelle introduced herself to a Nashville stadium afloat of state fans from a tiny outer signifier astatine the acold extremity of the venue with “Jack Daniel’s,” a opus that embraced bourbon arsenic if it were a chap quality being.

Her dependable was big, her look was bold, the opus was clever, and a information of the 50,000 oregon truthful successful attendance — mostly unfamiliar with K. Michelle and her R&B past — didn’t cognize rather what to marque of her. But she belted retired “Jack Daniel’s” with an unrepentant swagger, referencing the city’s honky-tonk territory crossed the stream from Nissan Stadium successful the process. And she did, successful fact, amass immoderate caller fans with that first-time exposure.

“It’s a consciousness record,” she says. “It’s addictive, and those who caught the lyrics, I knew that they would beryllium capable to subordinate with maine astir ‘Jack Daniel’s.’ So it was truly a bully infinitesimal for me, and conscionable to spot radical — adjacent aft I sang it — successful my DMs, to spell to Broadway, and radical asked astir the record. I cognize that determination was thing with the record.”

Long earlier K. Michelle sang astir a romanticist narration with Jack Daniel’s, she had a concern narration with the manufacturer. In 2017, she helped make a Southern peach cocktail brand, including the packaging, which featured a first-ever golden headdress for the bottle. In the process, she became the archetypal Black pistillate named an ambassador for 1 of the best-known intoxicant trademarks.

“I had a large acquisition with Jack — not lone conscionable loving the product,” she says. “They taught maine much astir concern than I’ve ever learned. Like the opus says, ‘Something here’s different, thing feels right.’ ”

Her inheritance with Jack Daniel’s the institution helped substance “Jack Daniel’s” the song. K. Michelle was a instrumentality of Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album, and arsenic she dug into the credits, she realized the songs she astir liked were written by ERNEST. Her manager acceptable her up with a co-write circa 2021, and erstwhile ERNEST came to her house, she ended up recounting her “Jack” history.

“I bash jam sessions, truthful I marque definite everybody has nutrient — a batch of nutrient — and we each get comfortable,” K. Michelle says. “I was telling this story, and I was saying that I person thing I’ve been saying my full career, and that’s ‘Jack Daniel’s is the lone antheral I trust.’ That’s been with maine for years, truthful we ended up penning astir it from that position aft I said that line.”

They kicked into it sequentially from the opening verse, with ERNEST describing Nashville’s engaged Downtown nighttime country successful conjunction with short, choppy phrases successful the archetypal lines. The pre-chorus became much elongated, portion No. 7 was introduced into the plot. No. 7 is, of course, a cardinal portion of the Jack label, though listeners tin beryllium forgiven if — earlier they go afloat acquainted with it — they subordinate the fig with NASCAR drivers. 

They segued into a high-energy chorus that starts with stark, descending 4th notes, recognizing successful the process however galore times the pistillate has “been fto down similar a vessel conscionable collecting dust.” Jack offers what she needs — “He keeps maine warm, I support him close” — moving its mode to the “only antheral I t...