Old Dominion Stay ‘Young’ With New ‘Songland’-Selected Jeep Team-Up [LISTEN]
Songwriting reality show Songland premiered another new episode on Wednesday (Aug. 21), and this time around, it was country group Old Dominion who were tasked to choose between a selection of songs written by industry up-and-comers to record.
There was another twist, too. The band was specifically looking for a cut for their upcoming contribution to a Jeep commercial, and Jeep chief marketing officer Olivier François also listened in. As Billboard reports, the judges whittled down a selection of competing tracks from writers such as Jacob.E, Maci and Jake Scott, ultimately choosing "Young" by newcomer Katelyn Tarver.
Over the course of the episode, ace Nashville songwriter and show mainstay Shane McAnally helped Tarver polish her song ultimately shaping "Young" into the episode's winner. Press play above to listen to the final version; the version that Tarver initially performed at the beginning of the episode is below.
"This song is about being young at heart. I'm 56, and when I drive, top off my Wrangler, I morph into the 26-year-old self of mine," François explained after Tarver finished her performance, adding that this connection to youth -- at any age -- made the track a perfect fit for the commercial. "That's exactly what Jeep is about. So I think that this could absolutely work."
"When I first heard this song, I felt the heart in it," Old Dominion's Matthew Ramsey offered, elaborating on how much "Young" had grown over the course of Tarver's work with McAnally. " Shane is really good at recognizing a great song, but that it might be missing something. And it really feels like you found a lot of special things about the song."
Songland premiered on May 28,2019. Before Old Dominion's guest slot, Kelsea Ballerini also appeared in a previous episode, as an artist choosing a song to record. Other non-country artists who have appeared on the show in that capacity include John Legend, the Jonas Brothers and many more.
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