Jon Nite

Jon Nite
Born (1980-03-19) March 19, 1980 (age 44)
OriginAmarillo, Texas, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Songwriter
  • artist
Years active2006–present
Labels
  • Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Jon Nite (born March 19, 1988) is an American singer/songwriter. He is Grammy-nominated, and has won CMA and ACM awards. He has written over 30 Billboard Airplay hits including 18 No.1's with billions of streams in multiple genres.

Nite's songs have been recorded by Tim McGraw, Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, Gabby Barrett, Charlie Puth, Brandi Carlile, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Jake Owen, Dan and Shay, Michael Ray, Brett Young, Darius Rucker, Dustin Lynch, and more. In 2019 "Break Up in the End" by Cole Swindell lead Nite to receive a Grammy Nomination for Best Country Song, an ACM Nomination for Country Song of the Year, and an NSAI award for Song of the Year. Some of Nite's recent No.1s include: "I Hope" and "Pick Me Up" by Gabby Barrett, "Dancing in the Country" by Tyler Hubbard, "You Didn't" and "Lady" by Brett Young, "Knocking Boots" by Luke Bryan, and "Living" by Dierks Bentley. Nite was named the 2023 SESAC writer of the year.

Biography

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Early life

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Born and raised in Amarillo, Texas, Nite first started songwriting after he saw an ad on TV for a songwriting competition which his friends "dared" him to enter.[1]

"I sent it in. They liked it. All the critiques were relatively encouraging, like maybe you should move to Nashville," he explained in a 2016 interview with Songwriter Universe. "Some kind songwriter back in the '90s was listening to my horrible first song and giving me a pep talk. I just got hooked. I started writing as much as possible."[2]

Following the judges advice, he moved to Nashville from Amarillo when he was 18 years old with his wife and baby, surviving on food stamps and living in a tiny apartment. He explained "I could be poor in Amarillo, Texas or I could be poor in Nashville and at least be close to something that potentially I could have a dream at". Nite studied at Belmont University's music school from which he eventually graduated.[3]

Early career

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As Nite began collaborating with different writers, he was introduced to Sony Music Publishing songwriter Ross Copperman, and they wrote their first song together, "Glass", which was cut by country duo Thompson Square and featured on their 2011 self-titled debut album. It became Nite's first hit as a songwriter, peaking at No. 15 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

Alongside Copperman, Jon Nite forged his career and created his next few hits, including Dierks Bentley's 2012 top five Country Airplay hit "Tip It On Back". Nite has since scored a number of other hits writing with Copperman, including Luke Bryan's Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay No. 1 "Strip It Down", A Thousand Horses' Country Airplay chart-topper "Smoke", Keith Urban's Airplay No. 1 "Break On Me", Darius Rucker's Airplay chart-topper "If I Told You" and Kenny Chesney's Top 10 hit "Noise".

Another regular co-writer has been Jimmy Robbins. Together, they've written Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert's "We Were Us" and Jake Owen's "Beachin'" (co-written with Jaren Johnston). Both songs reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. His other collaborations with Robbins include David Nail's Country Airplay chart-topping "Whatever She's Got" as well as Chase Rice's "Gonna Wanna Tonight" and Michael Ray's "Think a Little Less", which both peaked at No. 2 on the Country Airplay charts. Alongside Josh Osborne, the pair also wrote Tim McGraw's top five Airplay hit "Top Of The World".[4]

Present career

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Among the other artists Nite has had songs recorded by are Frankie Ballard, Lee Brice, Brett Eldredge, Love and Theft, Maddie and Tae, Chase Rice, Dallas Smith, Cole Swindell, Leah Turner and Waterloo Revival.

His awards include a CMA Triple Play honor, which he received for writing three No. 1 hits in a calendar year ("Smoke", "Strip It Down" and "Break On Me").[5]

Nite additionally earned a 2019 Grammy nomination for Best Country Song, an ACM Nomination for Country Song of the Year, and an NSAI award for Song of the Year following his work on Cole Swindell's chart-topping ballad "Break Up In The End".[6] Nite's recent No.1s include: "I Hope" by Gabby Barrett, "What She Wants Tonight" by Luke Bryan, and "Living" by Dierks Bentley.

#1 Hits

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Songwriting discography

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Singles

Year Artist Album Song Co-written with
2011 Thompson Square Thompson Square "Glass" Ross Copperman
2012 JT Hodges JT Hodges "Goodbyes Made You Mine" Ross Copperman, JT Hodges
Dierks Bentley Home "Tip It On Back" Ross Copperman, Tully Kennedy
2013 Keith Urban feat. Miranda Lambert Fuse "We Were Us" Jimmy Robbins, Nicolle Galyon
Jake Owen Days of Gold "Beachin'" Jaren Johnston, Jimmy Robbins
Lauren Alaina "Barefoot and Buckwild" Chris DeStefano, Lauren Alaina
2014 Leah Turner Leah Turner (EP) "Pull Me Back" Jimmy Robbins, Leah Turner
Dallas Smith Lifted "Wastin' Gas" Adam Craig (singer-songwriter), Matt Dragstrem
Gloriana Three "Trouble" Ross Copperman, Rachael Reinert, Mike Gossin
Chase Rice Ignite the Night "Gonna Wanna Tonight" Jimmy Robbins, Shane McAnally
David Nail I'm a Fire "Whatever She's Got" Jimmy Robbins
2015 Tim McGraw Damn Country Music "Top of the World" Jimmy Robbins, Josh Osborne
Luke Bryan Kill the Lights "Strip It Down" Ross Copperman, Luke Bryan
A Thousand Horses Southernality "Smoke" Ross Copperman, Michael Hobby
Waterloo Revival "Bad for You" Ross Copperman, Cody Cooper, George Birge
The Cadillac Three Peace, Love & Dixie "Party Like You" Jaren Johnston, Jimmy Robbins
2016 Kenny Chesney Cosmic Hallelujah "Noise" Ross Copperman, Kenny Chesney, Shane McAnally
Keith Urban Ripcord "Break on Me" Ross Copperman
Chase Rice "Whisper" Chris DeStefano, Chase Rice
Michael Ray Michael Ray "Think a Little Less" Thomas Rhett, Barry Dean, Jimmy Robbins
Darius Rucker - "If I Told You" Ross Copperman, Shane McAnally
Love and Theft (duo) - "Candyland" Stephen Barker Liles, Jimmy Robbins
2017 Lee Brice "Boy" Nicolle Galyon
Dustin Lynch Current Mood "I'd Be Jealous Too" Dustin Lynch, Ross Copperman
2018 Tyler Rich Tyler Rich EP "11:11" Andrew Dorff, Lindsay Rimes
Maddie & Tae "Friends Don't" Justin Ebach, Maddie Marlowe, Taylor Dye
Cole Swindell All of It "Break Up in the End" Chase McGill, Jessie Jo Dillon
2021 High Valley Way Back "Whatever It Takes" Brad Rempel, Ben Stennis

[7][8][9]

References

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  1. ^ "Jon Nite". CMA World. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  2. ^ Moss, Marissa (3 November 2014). "Songwriter Spotlight: Jon Nite Shares Stories Behind Keith Urban, Tim McGraw Hits". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  3. ^ Moss, Marissa (3 November 2014). "Songwriter Spotlight: Jon Nite Shares Stories Behind Keith Urban, Tim McGraw Hits". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  4. ^ "Credits". All Music. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  5. ^ "CMA Honors Writers With Triple Play Awards Trophies". 2017-02-16. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  6. ^ Variety Staff (7 December 2018). "Grammy Awards Nominations: The Complete List". variety.com. Variety Magazine. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Lee Brice Releases 'Boy,' Announces Forthcoming Album". Sounds Like Nashville. 2017-05-19. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  8. ^ "Jon Nite | Album Discography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  9. ^ "Songwriter Spotlight: Jon Nite Shares Stories Behind Keith Urban, Tim McGraw Hits". Rolling Stone. 2014-11-03. Retrieved 2016-05-11.