Drew Baldridge Excited to Relate to Fans Through ‘Rebound’
“It just really shows me as a songwriter, people actually do care about what I’m saying and they want to hear real life stuff," shared Baldridge.
When Drew Baldridge first walked into the Country Radio Seminar (CRS) last year, he was one month into a newly released single and felt somewhat like a “poser.” But now, a year and two singles into his country career, the Illinois native is feeling better than ever.
Currently, Baldridge is back at radio with “Rebound,” a song he penned with his drummer, Simone Simonton, and GRAMMY-winner Emily Weisband. It’s a song that shows off his songwriting and a softer side of the singer/songwriter.
“It’s totally different from my first single ‘Dance With Ya.’ I wanted to show people a more serious side of myself, that I can write a song,” he told Sounds Like Nashville during CRS in Nashville last week. “This is a song that we sat down after we wrote it and we knew that we had something really special.”
“Rebound,” which chronicles the feeling of being someone’s second choice or the one they come back to after a breakup, is one that fans around the world are relating to.
“Ever since I put it out, I’ve had so many people message me on Facebook and be like ‘hey, you made me realize my worth in a relationship,’ and that’s what this song is about. It’s a song that kind of empowers that you deserve the best and I think it’s such a great message,” he explained. “Everybody’s been in that situation where somebody keeps coming back to you when they have somebody else in mind and they’re just using you for that moment and I don’t think people deserve that. I think that you deserve to be first and I don’t think you deserve to be anybody’s second choice.”
The song has earned Baldridge an impressive 18 million+ plays on Spotify and while that’s gratification for him as both an artist and songwriter, hearing stories of fans relating to the message is what really hits home.
“I had one guy in particular and he was just like ‘man, I’ve been in this toxic relationship for awhile and after hearing your song, I realized what the situation was. I was her rebound and she just kept coming back to me.’ He said, ‘You know what, I ended it today. Like, I’m done. I’m going to move on with my life and find somebody that deserves my love,’” he explained. “I was just like ‘Oh my gosh! I just changed that guy’s life!’”
The moment was an eye-opening one for Baldridge, who realized what it truly means to connect and share a universal story.
“I think all artists, no matter what, if you’re coming in here to play on the Grand Ole Opry stage, which is amazing and I love doing it, the first time I did it was this year and it was awesome, but to get a message like that really touches you and it makes you realize, I’m doing this for the right reasons and it’s to be relatable to people,” he said. “Just be that normal guy and write real music that people can hear and put themselves in and relate to it and try to change people’s lives.”
“It just really shows me as a songwriter, people actually do care about what I’m saying and they want to hear real life stuff. And of course as a songwriter, I said what I wanted to say, I was going through something else, I was going through something personal in my life at the time and it’s crazy that, you don’t think about it, but mostly everybody goes through the same stuff. You think you’re alone, but you’re not. You’re not alone. It’s so cool because so many people across America are going through almost the same situations as a lot of people are,” he concluded.
“Rebound,” featuring Emily Weisband, is the second single from Baldridge’s debut album, Dirt On Us. Fans can catch Baldridge out on the road this spring on The Highway Finds Tour, kicking off March 16 in Charlotte, NC.
