Amazing

Album: For the Ride Home (2003)
Charted: 79
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Songfacts®:

  • Josh Kelley went on to become a popular Country artist and married the actress Katherine Keigl, but "Amazing" dates back to his days at The University of Mississippi, where he went on a golf scholarship. In our interview with Josh Kelley, he told us: "We used to throw these little block parties, and I'd met this girl. And she was just really cool, really spunky. I remember that night, middle of the night, she was like, 'let's travel to Tunica and go to the casino.' It's like 2 in the morning.

    And the next day I had some free recording time at a studio to record this song. But I hadn't completely finished it yet. And so from her little spunky attitude, I actually got some ideas for the second verse on the way to the studio that next day. And the reason I even got that studio time is because I had basically traded a guitar amplifier, because I had no money in college. I just traded this guitar to this guy and he gave me six hours of time. I was young then, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to sing about, but I knew that I was chasing girls. I mean, now looking at it in hindsight, the lyrics don't even make that much sense. (laughing) Now I'm a much better writer than I was when I was 21. Or maybe I was actually 20 then. I think I was 20. And I've just become a much better writer."
  • "Amazing" was Josh Kelley's first single, and it started off as a Bluegrass song. It took a Pop direction that would shape his sound throughout the '00s, but it did get him noticed, as Kelley become one of the first Internet music discoveries. Said Kelley: "I tried to get a record deal with country music when I was 21 and I got turned down. And then six months later, a guy from Hollywood Records heard that song on the Internet, heard it on Napster, and they signed me and they turned it basically into a pop song. And I was totally fine with that. I love pop music. So I love a well-produced song. I think a really crafted, well produced song is like candy.

    It was probably good that I got turned down from country music when I was younger because I really wasn't ready. I needed this time to season and to develop and to grow and to become better. And now that I've finally made my way back to country music, I'm a much better singer, much better writer, and a much better performer."

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