Drew Baldridge: Stories Behind the Songs

Making his debut as a co-host, country artist Drew Baldridge joins Elaina Smith this week on Backstage Country. This marks the first time Drew will be stepping into the role, bringing his infectious energy to the show alongside Elaina. 

Smith and Baldridge took a trip down memory lane as they discussed his early career, particularly his hit song “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” which was originally released in 2019. Baldridge explained, “It was on my old label. It was a different version. It was real upbeat, up tempo.”

He then shared how he created a special wedding version of the song in 2021 for his wife to dance to with her father.

“I didn't really think much about it," said Baldridge. "It was just her favorite song, and I wanted to do it for her and her father. I got this awesome video that I took a couple days before where they were dancing to it in the kitchen, which is just a really special moment that I'll always have forever. I posted this song on social media on our honeymoon and one night I got almost 10 million views.” 

Baldridge recalled how, with the song going viral, that he’s “going to get a record deal now.” He said he’s finally got to the point to take the chance and just go after it.

Baldridge added, “Because what do I have to lose at this point? I always dreamed of being on the radio, always wanted to have a song on the radio, but this is my favorite song that I believe in the most, especially my wife's favorite.”

Chuckling, he said, “And my wife was just like, ‘I believe in you. Just don't tell me what you're spending.’ I said, ‘Okay, that works. That sounds like you going to Target. Don't tell me what you're spending.’” 

Baldridge shared that he was going through a hard time when he wrote the song “Tough People,” because it was when Nashville kind of gave up on him, and he had to start his own label. He said, “I had a lot of ups, a lot of downs. And we were on country radio for five months at this point, and the song was still not top 50. I was paying for it, and I was figuring it out.” 

He continued, “I went in to write with my buddy Adam Sanders and another buddy, Jordan Walker, and Adam Sanders said, ‘Man, I've been saving this idea for you.’ I got this idea called “Hard Times Make Tough People.” What you've been going through is so hard, and not many people can do this.” 

Baldridge had a realization that the song is like his journey and his story. He said, “This is everything I've been going through. We wrote that hook of ‘Hard work pays off, good beats evil / And tough times make tough people.’ That became my label's motto of ‘Hey, we're just going to outwork everybody, but we're going to treat everybody right because good always beats evil.’ Amen.” 

Tune in to Backstage Country from March 3 to 7 to hear more about the stories behind Drew Baldridge’s songs. Want to keep up with Drew? Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.