Jason Aldean

Born and raised in Georgia, country crooner Jason Aldean taught himself the guitar during summer breaks from high school and later was able to play a track simply by hearing the song a few times. At the age of 15, Aldean had perfected his artistry enough to join the house band at Georgia nightclub Nashville South. The performer adopted his current stage name over his given name, Jason Williams, for the fear that it was too generic.

Moving to Nashville when he was 21, Aldean inked a few failed record deals before releasing his self-titled debut in 2005 with backing from Broken Bow Records. The musician — who followed up his debut with hit singles like “My Kinda Party” and “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” a duet with Kelly Clarkson — released his fifth album in July 2012. Called Night Train, the disc features the song “The Only Way I Know,” a collaboration between Aldean, Luke Bryan and Eric Church.

Aldean married his high school sweetheart, Jessica Ussery, in 2001 and the couple had two daughters, Keeley and Kendyl. In October 2012, Aldean and former American Idol contestant Brittany Kerr were photographed kissing at a California bar, and although Aldean later admitted “everything’s good” with his family, he filed for divorce from Ussery in April 2013 citing “irreconcilable differences.”

The country artist moved on with Kerr, whom he wed in March 2015 after two years of dating. The couple welcomed son Memphis in December 2017, and their daughter, Navy, in February 2019.