Country artist Jimmie Allen took cross-country and cross-genre collaborations to a whole new level with the release of his latest EP, Bettie James. Inspired by and named after his late father, James Allen, and grandmother, Bettie Snead, who passed away in September 2019 and February 2014, Jimmie told HL that he wanted to start to leave “trails of their legacy” through his music.
“I wanted to get artists that I love and that they loved and put on the same project,” he explained in an EXCLUSIVE interview. The star-studded track list includes country giants like Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker, and other genre-bending artists like Noah Cyrus and Nelly. “A lot of people don’t know that Nelly has actually been working with country artists for a while,” Jimmie said. “It just flowed naturally and it didn’t feel like it was out of pocket for him. He’s just such a genius at what he does.”
The “Best Shot” singer added that the tracks offer a mix of his style that spans from “rock gospel, R&B and jazz.” “I’m really doing what I’ve always wanted to do by blending all my different influences,” he admitted. “I feel like I have the creative freedom to be myself in my music. It’s great to be able to show my diversity and do things I love with within my musical arena.”
While he has a wide range of incredible artists on Bettie James, Jimmie still has musicians on his list he’d love to work with in the future including Rob Thomas, Adele, and definitely Reba McEntire!
Be sure to stream Jimmie Allen’s new EP Bettie James out today! Tomorrow, he will perform live on the historic Grand Ole Opry stage for their Saturday Night Opry livestream beginning 7pm CT. Click here for how to tune in.