For anyone looking to brand Jason Aldean as part of a significant musical movement, good luck. There's a lot about the singer that's become familiar during his five years as a country hitmaker, after all, he has spent more weeks at #1 on the radio charts than any other country artist in the last 12 months. But none of what he does comes out quite like anyone else. The blues-tinged licks at the end of his phrases--there's a ring of familiarity about them, but you can't really link them to another artist. ...show more

For anyone looking to brand Jason Aldean as part of a significant musical movement, good luck. There's a lot about the singer that's become familiar during his five years as a country hitmaker, after all, he has spent more weeks at #1 on the radio charts than any other country artist in the last 12 months. But none of what he does comes out quite like anyone else. The blues-tinged licks at the end of his phrases--there's a ring of familiarity about them, but you can't really link them to another artist.

The smoky guitar riffs that have become a signature--they're built on sounds that have come before, but they don't really belong to anyone else in the country genre, either. The small-town themes that pervade many of his songs--that's all been done before, but not quite with the unwavering honesty that Aldean applies to the subject. Since his 2005 debut with the scorching "Hicktown," the singer has set himself apart from the pack as a truly unique artist. He addresses his Georgia-born brand of country music with a singular vision, and he intends to keep it that way.

"The whole thing about being creative is coming up with new things," he says matter-of-factly in a converted barn on his Nashville-area farm. "What makes you different and more creative than the other guys is taking something to an extreme and making it better without ripping anybody else off. I think that's the key. The great ones figure it out and are constantly evolving, and that's what makes 'em great." With My Kinda Party, the Academy of Country Music's former Top New Male Vocalist further cements his uniqueness with a robust15-track project that builds on his personal past while covering new territory. ...show less