Aaron Watson has recently taken the country music world by surprise by topping charts across the board with his recently released album, The Underdog.
Aaron Watson has been in the music industry for nearly fifteen years, but until recently has only received national acclaim. A Texas local, his music was always regionally celebrated, and fans were ecstatic to discover that with the release of his new album, The Underdog, Watson has hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums Chart. Watson’s album is also currently No. 3 on iTunes’ Top Country Albums.
The Underdog is true cowboy music, a brand of country that has recently been forgotten in the midst of pop and rap country crossovers that have recently been popular in the country world. Watson’s cowboy twang genuinely sounds straight out of Texas, and his recent album is a mix of upbeat and emotional. Most importantly, the songs featured on The Underdog are about life. Watson has had plenty of experience living. He and his wife have three children, Jacob, Jack, Jolee Kate, and Julia Grace who tragically passed away shortly after she was born. “Bluebonnets (Julia’s Song)” is dedicated to Julia, and the emotion shining through his lyrics is, as he describes life as a parent, “beautiful and bittersweet.”
As well as he can portray emotion, he also knows how to entertain his listeners. In “That’s Gonna Leave a Mark,” Watson describes a relationship in which his spitfire love interest steals his truck after their first kiss, and he still can’t help but love her. He even holds true to the old Alabama lyric, “If you’re gonna play in Texas, you’ve gotta have a fiddle in the band,” as “That’s Gonna Leave a Mark” has an incredibly well-played fiddle solo incorporated with guitar and drums.
Although The Underdog has been beyond successful on a national scale, Watson’s older work is of equal quality. “The Road & The Rodeo” off the likewise titled album, The Road & The Rodeo (2010), has an excellent voice quality and the kind of melody that will get stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Watson currently has 12 albums released; Aaron Watson (1999), A Texas Cafe (2001), Shutupanddance (2002), The Honky Tonk Kid (2004), Live at the Texas Hall of Fame (2005), San Angelo (2006), Barbed Wire Halo (2007), Angels & Outlaws (2008), Deep in the Heart of Texas: Aaron Watson Live (2009), The Road & The Rodeo (2010), Real Good Time (2012), and The Underdog (2015).
With a sound straight out of Texas, and a rapidly growing fan base, Watson is scheduled to play his first show at The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, March 31, 2015. Everyone loves to see an underdog succeed, and we at National Country Review tip our hats to Aaron Watson for chasing his dreams for twelve long years. He’s earned this.
Aaron Watson
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