Jimmy Wayne has had a long road to the top, but it seems he is finally there. “Do You Believe Me Now,” Wayne’s first single off the new album of the same name, is the first No. 1 of his career and has been there for weeks. Wayne began his career under the DreamWorks record label and released two chart-topping hits that began his career in motion. “Stay Gone” peaked at No. 3, and “I Love You This Much” climbed to No. 6.However, when Dream Works merged with Universal Music Group, Wayne’s career was halted and his future uncertain.Wayne said he didn’t even know what was happening. “I showed up one day and heard that some of the employees had found other jobs. I thought we were on a roll. I thought everything was perfect. Even when it did close, I thought I would be ok because we had so much momentum off the first album.”This turned out not to be the case, and Wayne found himself starting from scratch. He began writing and collecting songs for his next album, going through six producers before he found someone who understood his sound. Thankfully Scott Bruchetta also broke from Dream Works and was able to sign Wayne to his newly created label, Big Machine Records. Once Wayne had his dream team in place, work on the new album began.Ten new songs will appear on the new album plus re-recodings of “Stay Gone” and “I Love You This Much.” Wayne said he continues to write music that reflects his own experiences into the sound.“I’m always writing about stuff that I know,” said Wayne. Still he also believes it’s important to write for his audience. “We’re playing for Country Music listeners, and the majority of Country Music listeners that I know have a story to tell. They all have trials and tribulations that they’ve gone through. The best way to connect with those people is to sing something that they know.”
