When breakthrough country artist Andrew Jannakos was eliminated from NBC’s The Voice in April 2019, he was back to his hotel room by 6:00pm. By 9:00pm he was in bed with his suitcase packed, and at 5:00am he was on the first flight headed East to his hometown of Flowery Branch, Georgia.
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“It happens in the blink of an eye,” he tells American Songwriter over the phone. “I already quit my job in order to do the show, so I got home and was like ‘What am I going to do?’ The way I saw it, I had two options: Just go back to my nine-to-five life, or prove to me, my son, and every other person that ever doubted me and chase my dream.”
He adds, “I started working harder than I ever have in my life.”
Despite every challenge chasing his dreams presented, the artist chose the latter. The result is his debut EP Gone Too Soon, released June 4 via RCA Nashville. The six-song collection is named for its title track, “Gone Too Soon”—a viral hit that propelled his career to this moment. When the pandemic hit, there were moments he feared his trajectory was slowing down. As many creatives were forced to do, Jannakkos turned to social media to continue his engagement there, sharing cover songs while building an impressive audience.
But after his girlfriend—now wife, as of September—posted a video of him cooking dinner while singing along to “Gone Too Soon” to his TikTok in July 2020, the video racked up 250K likes by the next morning, and ultimately earned him more than half a million followers on the platform. It was the first original song he shared on the platform and only the sixth song he had ever written.
Upon the official release of “Gone Too Soon” to streaming platforms and digital retailers in September, Jannakos debuted at No.1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artist Chart, while the track debuted at No.1 on the iTunes Country and All-Genre charts and 12 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and within the Hot 100.
Still stunned by the response, he says, “I wasn’t meaning to have a viral moment.” He laughs, and continues, “Watching those numbers go up, trying to understand that is people supporting me and my dreams, still feels wild to me.”
It was his vocal talent that got him to Los Angeles for The Voice, but once he arrived in Nashville, he earned his songwriting chops in the room with close friends and collaborators like Josh Bricker, Jason Afable, Jason Duke, Chris La Corte, Justin Wilson, Kyle Clark, Alex Pennington Smith, Sam Swoon, and Eric Mallon. As a co-writer on each track, Jannakos exhibits growth in his craft, further elevating his quickly emerging artist career.
“Melody comes easily to me,” he says. “But I also love digging into lyrics, and being a part of that story as well. As an artist I believe it’s important to always consider the story you are trying to tell. I try to be a part of my music as much as I can. Because I co-wrote all of these songs, they all hold meaning to me.”
Jannakos pieced together a group of songs that to display his versatility. “Somebody Loves You” and EP-closer, “Wine Country,” were penned on the same writing retreat where he wrote the title-track in January 2020. “Like Yesterday” is a more recent song, written in the last few months before the release.
Produced by Derek Wells, Gone Too Soon is the type of entrance every artist hopes for. Deeply rooted throughout his six-tracks are the foundational influences of Waylon, Hank, and his grandfather’s Bluegrass band back in Georgia, that ultimately place the artist within a broadly country categorization—as heard on “Like Yesterday” and “We’ve Always Loved.”
Yet, his production on “Wine Country” and “When the Whiskey Runs Out” allows space to reflect the other side of his inspired spectrum to include pop and R&B undertones from the likes of NSYNC and Eminem. With the vulnerabilities of his personal experience entangled throughout the lyrics, Jannakos delivers an enviably authentic debut collection.
“Everything happens for a reason,” he concludes. “If you chase your dream and work your hardest, everything falls into place. I can’t wait to see where the next turn takes us.”
Listen to Andrew Jannakos’ debut EP, Gone Too Soon, here.
