Chris Janson Says He Wanted No. 1 Hit “Done” to Sound “Somewhere Between George Strait & The Wallflowers”

Chris Janson’s wife-inspired single, “Done,” ascended to the top of the Billboard Country Airplay chart this week. Penned by Chris, Mitch Oglesby, Jamie Paulin and Matt Roy, “Done” is featured on Chris’ 2019 album, Real Friends.

More so than any other tune on the 13-song album that Chris co-produced, “Done” had to fit a very specific concept Chris had in mind. As Chris told Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown, he wanted “Done” to sound somewhere between George Strait’s 1998 hit, “True,” and The Wallflowers’ 1997 hit, “One Headlight.”

“Yeah, the song kind of demanded [different production], but, you know, I produced everything on the new record,” says Chris to Kix. “But, I don’t know, ‘Done’ just kind of called for it. And, I’ll tell ya, I did kind of directionalize it a little—I don’t know if that’s a word—but I set a tone for it. And, I wanted it to sound like a 1995, ’96, ’97 George Strait four-week number one. I wanted it to sound like, [Chris sings]True like the sun comin’ up each mornin’. I wanted it to sound like [Strait’s “True”], you know? Somewhere between that and ‘One Headlight’ by The Wallflowers, so we fell right in the middle of that.”

“Done” follows Chris’ previous Billboard Country Airplay chart-topper, “Good Vibes.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com