NASHVILLE, TN—After years spent in the shadows, writing hit songs for country music superstars including Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Jaida Dreyer is poised to take the spotlight in 2019 to let the world hear her voice. Dreyer was crowned the inaugural winner of USA’s reality smash, “Real Country.” Her final performance aptly describes the network’s title, Dreyer elected to sing an original composition, rather than cover a familiar tune, which every other finalist did.
“Jack It To Jesus (Spray It To Hell)”is an amusing ode to Loretta Lynn’s simple request to a hair dresser friend. A fed up Lynn ordered her faithful stylist to, “Jack It To Jesus (Spray It To Hell),” Jaida instantly recognized the catchy title, dripping with sass and attitude. Jaida promised to write a song inspired by the experience.
Her performance received 4.6/5 stars, which comfortably ranked as the night’s best rating.
“I love country music. I love and respect the history of country music. This is my ode to all the big haired women that came before me,” she says.
“Real Country,” an eight-part series filmed in Nashville over the summer. Twenty-one contestants started the show, but just seven finalists remained for the December 11 finale. In addition to Dreyer, Copper Chief and Fleet fans rated performances by Jamie Floyd, Kylie Frey, Frank Ray and Tiera.
The gamble worked; her victory includes a $100,000 cash prize and a performance at the Grand Ole Opry. Dreyer alongside her fellow finalists, have earned a performance slot at the Stagecoach Festival this coming April in Indio, California. The three judge panel included Travis Tritt, Jake Owen (Dreyer was on Team Owen), and Shania Twain. It was Jake Owen who invited Dreyer to be a contestant on the USA Network show for her prolific writing ability.
“We’ve all heard your songs on the radio that you’ve written for other people,” Dreyer’s coach Jake Owen told her, “but it’s about damn time we hear you singing your own songs on the radio.”
An accomplished singer/songwriter from Canada, but raised in Latimer, Iowa, her background includes being an award-winning equestrian rider from the age of five, moving to seven states during her youth. Music was the one constant in Dreyer’s life: “The only other thing I knew how to do was write songs,” Dreyer says. “Growing up on the road, I learned that life isn’t a fairy tale,” Dreyer says. “It gave me a lot to write about, and a story that most 17-year-old girls don’t have. I look at it as a blessing. My crooked road has given me a career.”
Penning Luke Bryan’s “Home Alone Tonight” in 2016, Dreyer is an artist with tremendous range. Her eclectic style and imagery has been a perfect match for both TV and Film. She is credited for nine cuts in the hit television series “Nashville,” and songs featured in A&E’s “The Returned” and Netflix’s “Longmire.” In 2016, she celebrated a multi-week #1 with Bryan’s “Home Alone Tonight” featuring Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild.
Dreyer has achieved success as a singer, songwriter, and performer whose traveled coast-to-coast performing for fans, and opening for artists ranging from Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, to the legendary Merle Haggard.
She credits her eclectic taste in music to her mother, who introduced her to classic artists like Kitty Wells and Hank Williams, Sr., as well as then-current hit makers like Tanya Tucker, Keith Whitley, and Patty Loveless. After notching the victory, she released the single, “I’ve Been Everywhere.”
This show has been called a country version of “American Idol,” but stands alone as a great and authentic representation of the country genre. See y’all at the stagecoach festival in April!
