kris jones

Citing influences like George Jones, Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, and Alan Jackson, country crooner Kris Jones was just an introverted, hard-working Texan before becoming an internet superstar after his soulful -- on the fly -- cover of George Jones' "Tennessee Whiskey" went viral. It only took ten days after posting the video -- his then-15-year-old daughter shot the footage in 2016 while the two were sitting in his car outside of Home Depot -- for the recording to hit an impressive 25 million combined views on Facebook and YouTube, turning the 38 year old contractor and family man into an overnight sensation -- country media referred to him as the "Tennessee Whisky Dad". The Fort Worth native started performing in church at the age of 10, and had always hoped for a career in music, but personal and professional difficulties kept interfering, and despite staying active in karaoke and various singing competitions -- he was turned down by American Idol and The Voice -- Jones' dream of hitting the big time seemed too elusive to chase full-time. By late 2017, not long after he went viral, Jones was appearing on radio and television programs -- he even appeared on The Ellen Show -- and in 2018 he released his debut EP, Peace. ~ James Christopher Monger