Jordan Davis

When Jordan Davis came exploding out of Nashville in the late 2010s, his mix of country, pop, and R&B influences was right in sync with the blurring of genres in a post-streaming age, and his swift success proved it. Born in Shreveport, LA, in 1988, Davis had music in his bloodline. His uncle Stan Paul Davis wrote country hits for Tracy Lawrence and others in the ’90s, and in 2012, Jordan made his way to Music City to give his own songs a push. Five years later, his debut single, “Singles You Up,” stampeded up the country charts and went double platinum. His next couple of singles, “Take It From Me” and “Slow Dance in a Parking Lot,” became country smashes too, as did the album they appeared on, 2018’s Home State. The image implied by Davis’ ZZ Top-worthy beard notwithstanding, his vocal instrument is a smooth, supple one, capable of delivering hook-heavy party starters like “Singles You Up” and romantic power ballads like “Slow Dance in a Parking Lot” with equal amounts of grace, and his 2019 duet with pop singer Julia Michaels on “Cool Anymore” indicated even more range in his ever-evolving sound.