Beautiful. Stunning. Gorgeous. All adjectives one can use when describing Jessie James Deckerâs outer beauty, but take a look on the inside and the word that comes to mind is gold. Itâs no wonder the âLights Down Lowâ singer chose that for the title of her latest EP.
Jessieâs excitement over her new collection of songs is palpable. The 28-year-old, with a personality to match the title, opens her heart on the five-track EP. The collection offers a mix of songs, including her latest single âLights Down Low,â the inspiring Maren Morris penned âToo Young To Knowâ and the true to life title track, âGold.â
âOh my God, weâve been working so hard on this thing,â Jessie tells Nash Country Daily. âIt was just crazy trying to figure out what five songs we were going to put on this EP. We just felt like it was the perfect combination of songs. Itâs easy listening, you know, I have those moments where Iâm belting and singing and showing off a little but for the most part, I feel like thatâs where I have evolved as a vocalist. I used to think thatâs all I had to do all the time was just do these big vocal power house moves where Iâm showing off my runs and this is how high I can sing, that I never focused on that lower register of my voice. Through this EP I really am showcasing a different side of my vocals that Iâm really proud of.â
A strong showcase of her songwriting skills, a task she loves more than performing, is also evident on âLights Down Lowâ and âGirl On The Coast,â Jessieâs only solo-penned effort on the EP. The tune, written about a moment in time when she needed a momentary break from her life, turned out to be her favorite on the album.
âI wrote it in the car on my phone. I write everything on my phone,â explains Jessie. âMy kids were screaming in the backseat, we were on the way back to Nashville from visiting my mom in Georgia. They were screaming, they were just making me crazy and my happy place is thinking about our beach house in Florida. You know that Blake Shelton song, [âSome Beachâ], well for me I was like, âI just want to go to the beach. I just want to lay out on the sand. Theyâre driving me nuts!â So I wrote the whole song in 15 minutes. I donât know where it fits musically, itâs an interesting song, but I felt like it was so cool it didnât matter. Itâs just so easy listening. Even if I didnât write it and someone else was singing it, I just know I would still enjoy itâ
Jessie isnât the only stellar songwriter on the album. The songstress enlisted the help of songwriters Jeffery Steele and countryâs current âitâ girl, Maren Morris. After a few writing sessions together, the pair immediately hit it off. That relationship resulted in Maren giving âToo Young To Knowâ and âShoot Out The Lightsâ to Jessie for her EP.
âI was introduced to her a few years ago before she blew up,â Jessie recalls. âWe wrote together a couple times and I just liked her, I thought she was so cool. As she left my house after we had written a couple of songs, I just thought to ask her if she had anything for me for a record. So she sent me a bunch of songs and one of the songs, âToo Young to Know,â was emailed to me and I just lost it. I was like, âThis is huge, this song is beautiful.â Sheâs like,âYou can have it, you can have it.â So then a year later Iâm like, âHey Maren, can I still have that song, like are we good?â And she goes,âActually, Iâm thinking about putting it on my album, I just got signed.â And I was like, âOkay, okay. I mean, good for you, thatâs really exciting! If you wrote the song than just take it, just take it.â Well then I kept going back around and I went knocking on the door again when I heard her record was done. I was like, âMaren? Is that song available?â She was like,âOkay, I didnât use it. You can have it.â I was like, âYes!â
Gold is the culmination of events in life where Jessie finds herself todayâmarried to Eric Decker, wide receiver for the New York Jets, mom to two kids under the age of three, a fashion and beauty entrepreneur, a singer and a songwriter. Itâs all in a days work for the singer and she wouldnât have it any other way.
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âI am justâthe perfect word is gratefulâI am just so grateful. I get to go to sleep every night with my two healthy, beautiful children in their beds and a man next to me who loves me more than anything in the whole world. I get to do what I love for a living, and I have such a support system of a wonderful mother and father and family. I just feel so blessed. So this is about enjoying those moments and it just being gold. Itâs the tone of where Iâm at and Iâm just grateful, itâs gold.â
Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Mohegan Sun