Most musical artists that actually have successful careers in the music industry focus solely on music and nothing else. This can be especially proven true for country artists due to not many artists being involved in other career jobs. Artists might find another similar job such as vocals coaches, backup roles in songs, or maybe judges for singing shows such as American Idol, but these other jobs almost all relate to the music industry.
Jana Kramer finds herself separated in the category of starting in the career of acting and making herself relevant in the country music industry later on her life. Kramer started off in 2002 acting and appearing in small roles in hit TV shows such as All My Children, Grey’s Anatomy, and CSI:NY. One of her first big breaks was when she earned a recurring role in the show Friday Night lights which was a big hit on NBC. While she earned gigs in a lot of big shows, most being small roles in only a few episodes, her biggest breakthrough in acting was when she earned a larger role in the show One Tree Hill on the channel CW.
Not only did this role in One Tree Hill bring her into the spotlight in the acting industry, it brought her into the spotlight for her singing career. As the character Alex Dupree, she was initially introduced to be a model for another characters fashion line but as the show progressed, Alex Dupree started pursuing a musical career. Kramer appeared in season 7 in the second episode and her last episode was the seance episode in season 9. She left the show to pursue her musical career which sprouted directly from this show.
One of her first big songs was first premiered on One Tree Hill in February of 2011, which was named “I Won’t Give Up” and hit number 75 on the Billboards hot 100 chart. This was the beginning of her musical career which was catapulted by the tv drama.
Another song of hers, which is my favorite, is “Whiskey.” I heard about it from a friend who was a huge fan of the TV show, One Tree Hill, and I was in the car with her driving to get lunch one day and she played it and it instantly became one of my favorite songs (even though it is a girly song.) The melody and lyrics are so simple and catchy, I found myself wanting to listen to it over and over again. This was another song she premiered on One Tree Hill but it was later in April of 2011.
Jana Kramer’s musical career has taken off since she started her gig on One Tree Hill. Her first album was released in 2012 and was called “Jana Kramer.” Her next album was released on October 9th, of this year. While she isn’t a household country name yet, she has been gaining popularity and I think she’ll be a big name one day.
Adam,
I remember watching One Tree Hill and recognizing Jana Kramer as a country music singer. I think that it is so cool that a hit country artist also makes strides in the acting world without losing their original sound. “Whiskey” shows us that although she is in the Hollywood scene she still has those country roots deep down. It is interesting that after the show she released her self titled album. I guess this goes to show that the\is was the pinnacle of her musical career. Either way, she is one very talented woman and you do a great job in highlighting her strengths. Thanks for sharing!
Adam,
I have never heard of Jana Kramer before your post (even though I am an avid One Tree Hill watcher…just haven’t gotten to that season yet:/). I watched the video you attached and really liked her sound. It is smooth and effortless and has the perfect country twang. I also liked how you introduced the blog with an overarching idea and then narrowed down to a central argument, using Kramer as the support for it. It is really interesting that many smaller artists have to find other means for supporting themselves aside from their music career. Many of the people we see who can both sing and act are cranked out of the Disney channel machine so it is refreshing to read about a singer who traces her roots to other well-renowned tv shows.
I wish I would’ve thought about this when writing my blog posts. I LOVE ONE TREE HILL (so much I watched the whole show 4 times through, just because.) OTH was known for bringing musical acts in to the spotlight, if they weren’t already in the spotlight. With the magnitude of artists they had guest appear on the show or playing in the background, country music was not really represented until Jana Kramer made her way to the show. I hated her character until she started singing. She has such a good voice and I think it’s crazy that acting is what got her into music, because of her singing abilities. I think she’s in a rough place right now because she didn’t gain and maintain the popularity from OTH as I’m sure she wishes she would have. She needs a super hit song to put her ahead of her contemporaries, even if “Whiskey” and “Why You Wanna” were really good songs. Here’s hoping that she pushes through and makes a hit that puts her firmly on the map!
This was such an interesting topic to write about! I (regrettably) watched One Tree Hill and totally remember Jana Kramer as Alex Dupree, but had no idea she went on to start a country music career! I’m really surprised honestly, and I had never heard her song until this post, but I like it! Your post was super easy to read and entertaining. It was helpful that you introduced things from where her story began and then to where it is now. I feel like she is going to struggle making it big if she hasn’t already, but who knows! I’m sure her fan base from One Tree Hill would love to see her make some waves in the country music world.
Adam,
I was going to say how happy I was to see you wrote about Jana Kramer as I am a huge fan of One Tree Hill, but I see that many other girls have expressed that, unsurprisingly. I remember hating her character on the show, but loving her voice, wondering if it was really her. I even remember seeing her on Grey’s Anatomy. It’s crazy to think how so many types of media artists participate in, in order to get themselves into the country music world at some point. I feel like there are so many actors/ models that desperately want to make it in the music industry. I’m rooting for Kramer and hope she makes it to big time stardom in country music!
Adam, your post really surprised me! I am familiar with Jana Kramer as she has acted in shows such as “One Tree Hill,” “Entourage,” and “Friday Night Lights,” but I had no idea that she was a singer trying to pursue a career in country music! I remember her performing in “One Tree Hill,” so I am excited to see what she is going to do within this genre. She was never someone I particularly liked because of the types of characters she would play as an actress, but I really do like her voice, and can see her taking this interest in country music to new levels. But my question is, which will she dedicate more of her time to now? Country music or acting?