Drew Baldridge Interview - Somebody's Daughter, Tough People

In the past two years, country singer/songwriter Drew Baldridge has taken his music career to a much higher level. He had a breakthrough hit with his heartfelt song “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” which reached #1 on the Country Aircheck/Mediabase chart, and #3 in Billboard. He’s also shared the stage with top artists such as Eric Church, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan, and he’s headlined his own shows.

Currently, Baldridge is having success with his new single, “Tough People.” This song was recently the Most Added single at country radio, and it appears likely to have a long climb up the charts. This song pays tribute to people who have gone through very tough times, but have persevered and are seeing their hard work pay off.

“Tough People” is Baldridge’s first single release in partnership with Stoney Creek Records & BBR Music Group. Baldridge is looking forward to his new label relationship, after spending the past few years promoting his music as an independent artist.

Baldridge is a soulful, expressive lead singer, and he writes songs about the personal experiences he’s gone through, and what his friends and family have dealt with. He’s not afraid to realistically write about the struggles and difficulties people go through, as he does on his song, “Tough People.”

Baldridge grew up in the small town of Patoka in Illinois, where he started writing songs when he was 16. At age 19, he decided to move to Nashville to pursue his career as an artist and songwriter. He signed his first music publishing deal in 2013, and he wrote many songs for his first album, Dirt on Us (released in 2016). He also wrote songs for other artists to record, and he secured cuts with Chase Matthew, Locash and Bailey Zimmerman.

In 2019, Baldridge first released his single, “She’s Somebody’s Daughter.” However, it would take four years for this song to truly become a hit. It was in 2021 that Baldridge released a new version of this song, along with a music video that featured his wife, Katherine, and her father dancing together (at Drew & Katherine’s wedding). This new video went viral, and it led to “She’s Somebody’s Daughter” being released in a new, reimagined version that moved up the charts in late 2023 and early 2024.

It was in 2022 that Baldridge released his second album, Country Born, which contained “She’s Somebody’s Daughter (reimagined)” and such key songs as “Imma,” “Legacy,” “She Does” and “Country Born.”

Here’s the wedding video of Drew Baldridge’s “She’s Somebody’s
Daughter,” which went viral and led to this song becoming a hit.

We are pleased to do this new Q&A interview with Drew Baldridge. He tells the story of how he wrote “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” and discusses his new single, “Tough People.” He also talks about his upcoming arena tour opening for Cody Johnson, and headlining his own shows.

DK: You’re originally from Illinois. How did you get started with music and writing songs?

Drew Baldridge: I grew up in a little town called Patoka, Illinois, which is a town of about 500 people. My parents put me in piano lessons when I was in first grade. I always loved music, and I would sing in Christmas programs. Then I started writing songs when I was around 16. I wrote about breakups and all that fun stuff (laughs) back in the day.

Our school was small; we didn’t really have a music program. So I started playing in talent shows and anywhere I could, to be in front of people and entertaining. That’s what I really loved. And when I was 17 or 18, I started a cover band and we played in local bars. Then when I was 19, I moved to Nashville.

DK: In 2016, you released your first album, Dirt on Us. Can you talk about the making of this album?

Baldridge: It was in 2013 that I signed my first publishing deal, and I started writing heavily for the first album. That album, Dirt on Us. was literally songs that I lived through. I think songs like “Dirt on Us” were about where I grew up, very rural and out in the country. And then songs like “Tractors Don’t Roll,” talking about how we all went to church every Sunday. It’s like our tractors didn’t roll on Sundays; that’s where that idea came from.

You know, I try to write songs about where I’m from and what I know. I’ve always felt when I try to get outside the box and write something that I don’t know about, they don’t come off as authentic to me. As I look back on that album now, there were a couple of songs that I was like…Oh man, I was trying to chase something. But that was my first project on an actual label, and we got a couple singles off that project that introduced me to people in country music.

Here’s the video of Drew Baldridge’s single, “Tough People.”

DK: I like your hit song, “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” and I read that you released the original version in 2019. Back then, what inspired you to write this song?

Baldridge: I wrote this song after meeting my girlfriend’s dad for the first time, and it was like…Oh man, I need to treat her right. If I break her heart, I’ll be breaking her mama’s heart and her daddy’s heart, too. So I sat down and wrote this song. It’s kind of a message to myself, to not break her heart. And you know, fast forward a couple years later, we ended up getting married in 2021 and we created a wedding version, so she could dance to it with her dad.

It was always a song for her and a song for us, and it was her favorite song. And this wedding version I made in 2021, that’s the one that ended up going on viral the next week on our honeymoon.

DK: On your Country Born album in 2022, there is the reimagined version of “She’s Somebody’s Daughter.” Is that the version that went viral in 2021?

Baldridge: The wedding version is the one that went viral, but it was just had a piano and cello. And I knew that if I wanted to take it to radio, I’m would have to add more instruments to it. At the time it sounded too piano-driven, so I went in the studio and I made this reimagined version, so it could be played on radio and used in playlists.

DK: I read that you made history with “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” because it was the first self-released single to make it to number one on the country charts. So what was it like to be an indie artist and watch it reach the top?

Baldridge: Man, it was wild to say the least…I really can’t believe it. This is a song that was so personal to me and it was going viral, but at the time I couldn’t get a record label on board. So I decided to take things into my own hands. We hired our own staff last year, created my own label, and I sent it to country radio myself. And it definitely makes it more rewarding, knowing all that I had to do to get it there.

Here’s the video of Drew Baldridge’s song, “Imma.”

DK: On your Country Born album, I like your songs “Imma,” “Legacy” and “She Does.” Can you talk about writing those songs?

Baldridge: “Imma” is still our show opener and we absolutely love this one. It’s so fun to play live and it brings so much energy. And my co-writer had that idea…”Imma,” We started breaking it down and we’re like, “Oh man, this is fun. We’re going to use Imma in as many ways as we can—Imma do this, Imma do that. And we were like, let’s make it a country love song, and that’s exactly what we did. It’s so much fun. It takes me back to that ’90s country, early 2000s country that I grew up on and loved so much.

With “Legacy”… Man, that’s such a real song. I lost my grandpa a few years ago, and I wrote this during Covid on a Zoom write with Jeb Gipson. He said…”Man, I’ll be honest. I almost didn’t write today ’cause my grandpa passed away this morning.” And I was like, “Oh my gosh, so sorry to hear that. My grandpa passed away too. Maybe we can talk about it. Maybe it’s the reason why we’re on this write today.” Then I had this idea for a song called “Legacy,” and we wrote the song and we reminisced about our grandpas and what they meant to us, and how we’re going to keep their legacy going on.

“She Does” is a song for my wife, and it means a lot to us. I wrote this one after we were already married, and she was pregnant with our son. Every time I play it live, it makes me think about all the things that she does for me and our family.

DK: You’ve just released your new single, “Tough People,” which has become a Most Added songs at country radio. And I read that Luke Combs has also recorded this song. So can you tell the story about how you wrote this song, and then how Luke Combs got involved?

Baldridge: I wrote “Tough People” back when we were sending “She’s Somebody’s Daughter” to radio last year, and it was a hard battle. There were moments when I thought…Do I keep doing this? Do I keep doing music? What am I doing? And then we came up with the hook…that tough times make tough people. If you keep fighting you can get out of it…your scars tell your story. We thought about how there’s a lot more people out in the world that have way more tougher times. We talked about all those people that really go through tough times, but they come out stronger because of it.

Here’s the video of Drew Baldridge’s song, “She Does.”

We recorded “Tough People” back in December, and I knew in my heart that I wanted it to be my follow up single to “She’s Somebody’s Daughter.” But in January I got a message from my co-writer, that Luke Combs wanted to cut the song. So it was bittersweet because though I wanted it to be a single for me, it would be awesome if it became a hit for Luke. Then at the end of January, Luke recorded it. But you know life happens…life gets in the way. Luke put out his Fathers & Sons album, and I heard through the grapevine that he wasn’t putting out a new album until 2025.

Then in August, when “She’s Somebody’s Daughter” made the Top 10, I called Luke and said, “Hey man, I know you recorded ‘Tough People’ and you really like it. But you know, I’ve been working on my second single and it’s really important that I have another hit. And ‘Tough People’ is my favorite song. And obviously if you want it, that’s great. But if you’re in limbo, and you don’t know it if will be your single, I would love to put it out. Then Luke got right back to me and he’s like, “Man, you wrote this. You sing it. This is your song. I hope you go all the way to number one with it.” I thought…Wow, what an awesome dude. He was just so kind. So we put “Tough People” out, and we’re excited that we’re about to have a Top 40 record.

DK: Now that you’ve put out “Tough People,” are you also writing and recording songs for your next full album?

Baldridge: Yeah, we’ve been working really hard at it. We hope in the middle of 2025, we’ll have a collection of songs to put out. I don’t know yet if it will be an album, or an EP. We want to make sure that we have the right songs…it’s got to be special.

DK: I want to ask you about your live shows and your touring. I read that you’ll be on tour next year opening for Cody Johnson, and you’ll also be headlining your own shows.

Baldridge: Yeah, we’re actually out on our own headline tour right now. And we’re super-pumped to be opening for Cody Johnson. This will be our first-ever arena tour, so it will be our first chance to play for 15,000 people every night. And it will be exciting to play “She’s Somebody’s Daughter” and “Tough People” for so many people.