Jake Owen thinks “Down to the Honkytonk” is an “earworm” too

ABC/Randy Holmes – Jake Owen admits when he picked his latest hit, “Down to the Honkytonk,” he was hoping it would get stuck in your head.

“It’s a special kinda song. I think when people hear that song, it’s one of those that’s just like an earworm,” he explains. “It’s something that connects, and I feel like in a world of a lot of music and art and ways to distract us and our attention, it’s super-important if you’re gonna put out any sort of content, that it’s content that grabs people’s attention.”

The Florida native’s most recent #1 is “I Was Jack (You Were Diane),” an update on John Mellencamp‘s classic rock song from 1982. Just like his previous hit, Jake feels like “Down to the Honkytonk” does a good job of being familiar while also adding a new twist.

“By doing that with ‘Jack and Diane,’ it was a risk, but I knew that it would grab people’s attention,” Jake reveals. “And I’ve always loved country music, I’ve always been a huge fan of classics, and ‘Down to the Honkytonk’ is something that grabs your attention, but it also bridges the gap of what’s new and what’s fresh and what’s country.”

Though Jake has released the tracks “Catch a Cold One,” “Made for You” and “Something to Ride On,” in addition to “Down to the Honkytonk” and “I Was Jack (You Were Diane),” he hasn’t revealed when he expects his next full album will arrive.