When a performer becomes a success, a lot of time people assume it happened quickly, because they don’t see the years of hard work and sacrifice that went into getting to that point. For instance, Jennifer Nettles says, “I was making my living as a musician, professionally, a good 10 years before Sugarland was a writing project. It was how I paid my bills for many years. And had, you know, little independent bands that I ran up and down the roads with, and a 15 passenger van with five smelly guys, and that’s how I made my living for years.”
There’s a concept in Nashville of the “ten-year overnight success,” because a decade is usually about how long it takes after someone moves to town before they score a record deal or their first #1 song. It may seem like a lot of time, but Jennifer, who was in her late 20’s when she finally found success with Sugarland, says, “You think about it – If you were going to be a doctor, well, you would be in school until about that age, or if you were going to be a lawyer same thing. Or if you were in the corporate world it would take that amount of time before you worked your way up to something that was a more established position. So it takes time.”
Now, not only has Jennifer achieved success as a member of Sugarland, but she’s also an accomplished actress, and she’s continuing to make solo music, including her new single, “I Can Do Hard Things,” which is available now.
Jennifer Nettles – long road to success :44
“I was making my living as a musician, professionally, a good 10 years before Sugarland was a writing project. It was how I paid my bills for many years. And had, you know, little independent bands that I ran up and down the roads with, and a 15 passenger van with five smelly guys, and that’s how I made my living for years. A lot of people don’t know that, but what I think is, really, it takes a while. I was in my late 20s when Sugarland just started, but you think about it. If you were going to be a doctor, well, you would be in school until about that age, or if you were going to be a lawyer same thing. Or if you were in the corporate world it would take that amount of time before you worked your way up to something that was a more established position. So it takes time.”