Family Knows No Bounds | ft. Andrew Jannakos 48:56

to Unlocked, guys. I'm so excited today because you guys know I love music. It's always been my therapy. And today I have on Andrew Janakis. There it is. I got it. I got it. So how did you say it's supposed to be pronounced? So the real pronunciation of it is Yenikopoulos. Okay. That's like the real Greek version. Okay. But when my great, great, great

maybe great-grandfather came from Greece they Americanized it to genakis okay to make it to make it easier yet still nobody can say it correctly literally no one really okay so I'm not the only one oh no every like even like at shows people will come up and they'll be like hey man like we want to make sure we say your name right like how do you pronounce it and I'm like genakis

Janakis, Janakis. And they'll look me dead in the face and be like, Janakis. And I'm like, yes. And they'll get up and be like, and now from, you know, season 16 of The Voice and has a hit record gone too soon on TikTok, Andrew Janikos. I'm like, what? We just talked 32 seconds ago.

What happened? I'm done. What the heck happened between like 30 seconds? What happened? All the time. It's actually, it was so bad like growing up and you, you probably grew up like me, like having like house phones on the wall. Yes. I do remember that. It was almost before my time. We were, we were right at it for sure. And my dad, when, when we got home from school, my dad would be like, all right, like you and your sister are going to be there for about 45 minutes till your mom gets home. If,

if, if the phone rings, if they don't know how to say our last name, hang up. So I swear all the time when I was growing up, I'd be like, I'd like, you know, you'd hear it at the front door when you're trying to get in. Yeah. And I'd like run up the stairs and be like, hello, is Ted Janikos? I'd be like, nope. Just hang up. I was like, yeah, baby, learn how to say the name. Oh,

That's amazing. Can't do that now. Can't shut people out now. Now you're going to get canceled if you do that. You'd be like, no, that's not how you say it. Bye. No. So, okay. So you just touched on it. Season 16 of The Voice. Yeah. You were on. And how was that experience? It was good. It was, you know, doing a show like that is...

is great exposure to be able to, you know, no matter where you make it, even if you just make it through an audition and it airs on TV, like that's TV time. Like you could take that momentum and, you know, work with it and use it. And, you know, I was lucky enough to go to like the top 27, top 28. So I made it to the first round of live shows. That's awesome. And, um, ended up, you know, getting eliminated coming off the show. And I had what every person that goes on one of those shows has, and it's just a little bit of momentum. Um,

when you get off that show. And, you know, I just used that and started booking shows and trying to do whatever I could. We have like 30 something shows set up and I'm completely independent just around Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and Alabama. And one by one, every one of them canceled because COVID hit.

Literally, every one of them. No, that hurts my heart. I think there were like 32 or 33 shows and every single one of them canceled like a month in advance. It was just boom, boom, boom, one after the other. And I was like, what is happening? Yeah. But, you know, we had to work with what we had. So that's where TikTok made a big part.

It's good to make it to the finals, but you don't necessarily always want to win. That's why I say I was so content and happy with where I made it to and where I'm sitting now. I've come a long way in the few years that I've been pursuing music as a profession. I've sang my whole life, but my blind audition on The Voice was the first time I ever performed on a stage in my life.

In front of like an audience. Yeah. So you say you've sang your whole life. So what was that in like church? Was it just, it was just, I sang, excuse me. I like, I didn't never sing in the church choir. Like we, we, I went to church, but I never sang in church. Um, I love church music. I love worship music, but it was more like,

In the shower, alone in my room, in the car with my mom and sister, who we'd all be singing, so it didn't really mean anything. But growing up in a small town like that... Because you're from a small town in Georgia. Yeah, from Flowery Branch, Georgia, in Atlanta. Let's go. Rep it, baby. So being from a small town like Flowery Branch, when it was, it's much bigger now. But it was never really...

I don't want to say an option to do music or anything like that, but, you know, growing up the way that I did. Yeah. Growing up the way that I did. It was like, you know, you figure out what you want to do. You work hard 40, 50, 60, 70 hours a week. You make your money and you provide for your family. Yeah. And so I was never, you know, put into my head like, hey, you should do music as a profession. Like you're an incredible singer. You should do this as a profession. Because I was very limited on who I sang in front of. Like it was really just my family.

And yeah, you know, so I never, I never thought that it was a possibility. Wow. That's what, that's so true. Coming from a small rural town, it's like your options are to be a school teacher or to be a farmer or something of that nature. There's like a handful of things. And like, that's kind of what your options are. That's all that you can, those are the only goals you can reach. I feel like. Yeah. And,

And it's so far from the truth. For sure. Because, and so many people are so afraid of taking that leap. And it's, it's like, dude, if you have a dream, just like literally just like, there's no time to waste. It doesn't matter. Even if you're 40 right now and you still have a dream, like quit your day job and go chase your dream. Yeah. Like there's nothing that's holding you back. Exactly. And to my faith, like I always say, what's the worst that could happen? Yeah. Like,

Like you're told no? Yeah. You're told no. Sleep in your car a couple nights. Yeah. Big whoop. I've done that too. When I first started coming to Nashville, I slept in my truck a few times for sure. No way. See, but that, we were just talking about that. That is, unfortunately, that is the norm. Yeah. Like for struggling musicians who want to chase a dream in Nashville, there are a gazillion and one super talented people. Everyone that you see, just about everybody that you see in Nashville, even if they're

packing groceries into a grocery bag or waiting on you at a table or behind a bar. Like they're probably singers or guitar players, bassists. They're all like everyone here has something to do with music. It doesn't matter if they're, like I said, if you're working in a restaurant or working at a real estate agent, like they probably do music on the side somehow. Yes. 100%. And that's, I think that's the coolest part about Nashville is like, there's so many talented people and it is, it's a,

The majority is luck. Who is going to walk into a room and hear you perform? Who are you going to meet? I mean, it's crazy. And two, like you said, age is just a number. Nate Smith was on my podcast, 37 years old, and is just now making it. And that was like, I think he said it was like a 10, 15 year... Yeah, he's been in town for a good while. I love Nate. I love Nate. And like sweetest human being in the world. And he...

to hear his story. And it was like, he was a nurse assistant, I think is what it was. And so like, he was a nurse assistant and then like left that living out of his car house, burnt down in wildfires in California. Wow. And yeah. Wow. That's crazy. And so then, uh, someone in town sent him a guitar to his dad's house and was like, you should really pick back up playing. And he wrote a song.

Went viral on social media. And he donated all the money to like a single mom who was moving out of town. Wow. And he was like, that was my inspiration to get back to Nashville and pursue music again because the impact that music has on people. Yeah. I mean, it's, it really, and that's what's like amazing to me is that I get to do this as a job. Like, you know, I get to write music every day and have people, um,

listen to my music not only listen to it but like understand where I was coming from in some of the songs like a lot of the some of the songs that they understand I'm like

you know, you, you think you're alone, but you are really not, dude. There's so many people in this world that are going through the same. So what would you say? So obviously you're hit gone too soon. You've had like 90 million streams. I want to say, I think it's even more than that, which is crazy. It baffles me. It baffles my mind. Absolutely insane. So over 90 million streams on that song, where did that song come from? What was the premise of it?

So that was like the fourth song that I'd ever written in my life.

Yeah. Yeah. Ever written in my life. So I wrote my first EP and I wrote that with my good friend, Alex Pennington Smith, who actually set up the retreat that we wrote Gone Too Soon At. So I'd like it all. It really all credits back to Alex. Love you, dog. And like it really does. He's like one of my best friends in the world now. And like he's more like a brother to me. And he was the first guy that I ever wrote a song with ever.

And the first day that we ever met, we wrote a song called She Ain't Gone. And then that one's like my first EP right when I got off the voice type of thing. And then we wrote a song called She Ain't Gone.

And then he was like, dude, I have a lot of friends that write music like you. We've written two songs in the two times that we've got together. Like you, you're a songwriter. And he's like, you know, let's set up a retreat and get some buddies of mine and introduce you to him and get some songs written. Yeah. And that's how that's legit how it started. We went to the retreat. It was in Chattanooga. The first day we wrote Gone Too Soon.

And I sat on that song for a long time because when I first moved to town and actually right before I moved to town, I told myself, you know, I want to do country music. Like, I don't want to steer towards pop country. I don't want to steer towards anything. I just wanted to be country music. And then I realized like,

It doesn't matter. No, like it doesn't matter if it sounds pop, if it sounds classic, if it sounds nothing like country, it's still like if you consider it country music and it's your music, then it's country music. Yeah. And, you know, that song I sat on that song for a long time just because I was like, you know, I don't know if that's what I want my sound to be completely around. Yeah. And then we teased it on TikTok.

woke up the next morning after teasing it and my wife didn't even go to sleep she stayed up the entire night like messaging like back on comments and stuff she commented back to over 10,000 people oh see she is a keeper 10,000 I was like what are you doing she's like I didn't want to lose like the momentum on it and I was like well you didn't you definitely helped it like for sure

And, um, so, you know, like I said, welcome the next morning, it had gone viral and I still wanted to do everything the, like the right way, like to the book. So I waited five weeks, um, to release the song and, you know, to be able to push the DSPs, to be able to, you know, hopefully get on some playlists and things like that.

And they waited, you know, I mean, which I didn't know if I was going to lose the momentum or if they were going to just say, OK, well, that was cool while it was here, but let's move on. Yeah. And they waited. You know, we had thirty five thousand pre-saves when I released that song. Wow. And it was I mean, it was crazy. I didn't I'd never imagined.

ever in my life expected that to happen. That's amazing. I was watching my phone go up like on Spotify. Like when you're an artist, you could watch your live numbers and it'll like blink. The phone will like blink. And every time it blinks, it goes up numbers. And it was going up like 20,000 streams at a time. That's amazing. I mean, I was baffled. I was like, there's no way this is happening. What were you doing before doing music full time?

Oh, God. Everything. Like, I never knew what I wanted to do in life. I never knew that music was going to be my thing. Like I said, I knew I could sing, but I never knew... But you never think it's going to be you. Yeah, you know, I never thought that I'd be able to pursue music as a career and, you know, pay my bills with my music. And so, you know, I have done...

I've bartended, I've served tables, I've done landscape, I've done construction, I've laid floors, I've done drywall, I've painted cars, I've detailed boats, I've done literally everything under the sun because I never knew what I wanted to do. I just chased all these things and I still, you know, I made good money while I was doing all those things, but I was never, but I always found myself changing and I was never happy. And, um,

all it took was really all it took was my wife. When I met the, when I met my wife, uh, a mutual Katie, Katie, so a mutual friend of ours invited me over to a bonfire and he was like, bring your guitar. We're having a bonfire. There's just a couple of people here. Like, you know, bring your guitar and we'll play some music and whatnot. So I went over to the house. I ended up playing either way by Chris Stapleton, which I really, really love that song. And, um,

She was I guess she was like who the frick is this kid in my house singing like this and um, you know one thing led to another and went back the next week and ended up getting her number and then we hung out a week later and then Oh, yeah for sure and it was it was weird too because she had a son a year old okay, and I

I never thought I wanted kids. I never like thought about having kids, anything like that. And then I met this little this little boy and I was just like, dude, what's happening to my life right now? Like all these emotions hit me in so many different places that I was like, dude, this little kid is what I was missing in my life.

And it's so crazy to see the way that it happened. Cause she obviously like, you know, she made me wait a few weeks to actually get to meet him. Yeah. But he was so little, like he was tiny. Yeah. And it's hard. I, it is extremely now, I don't know how much you know of my story, but now I have, you know, I'm helping to raise a tip, my 10 year old brother or 10 year old sister and 16 year old brother.

And I'm trying to date. Yeah. And I'm like, comes out of nowhere. What, what do you do with them? You know, I'm a 16 year old adult. You know, he drives all that with a 10 year old. I'm like, okay, well, I mean, you've got to maybe come have dinner with me. You've got it. Like, so from the beginning, it's really always, um,

all of you yeah and not just you and that person absolutely and that's what like that's what hit me really really quick was like I and I say this to her she she knows this for a fact I fell in love with that little boy before I even like thought of falling in love with her like he just stole my heart like he's this picture has been this is the first picture that we ever took together and it has been my screensaver

It has literally been my screensaver since the day that I took it. You were such a baby. I know I was too. So was he. I've never changed that screensaver. He's like, that is my, he's my baby. And it's crazy. Cause you know, when, when it happens the way that it did and you know, so how did, so you met him a few weeks later and then I just, I just fell in love with the kid. Like he was just a happy baby. Like he was just like always wanting to like,

love on you and give you hugs or you know come up and give you a kiss on the cheek or Like sit down and play with you like he was just a really loving kid and The first time that I met him and Katie has a picture of this but the first time that I met him I

I didn't know. Like I grew up around kids. I have a big family. So I grew up around like babies and stuff. Probably were like, holy shit. I was like, what's happening? Yeah. This is like not a child that I know. Yeah. And like, this is not a normal situation. I'm going in, like I'm starting to date this girl and she has a kid and so the first mission really at first, that's kind of, I was like, you know, I really got to think about this, but it, it happened so perfectly. Like it was like, God put him in my life.

for that reason. But the first time I met him, we ended up watching a movie, her and I, and we stay up. It's like two 30 in the morning. She's passed out. Yeah. I'm awake watching the movie with this one and a half year old baby. And I don't know how to get him to sleep. I'm like, what in the world? So I just put him on my chest and like start just hugging him. And then I started like singing into him like a little bit and he just like passed out.

And I like rolled him over. And then the next morning she was like, did you stay up all night with him? And I was like, yeah. She's like, I am so sorry. Like this is the first time that I'd let you even like see him. It was, it's only like the fifth time that we've really like hung out at the house. She's like, I'm so sorry. And I was like, no, you're good. Like we were just chilling. Like it was, it was a good time, but it's, it was so crazy. Cause it started off as Andrew. Like I was just Andrew.

And it was the cutest little Andrew because it wasn't even Andrew. You just knew he was trying to say. And but then it was, you know, I was Andrew for a long time and then I was Andrew daddy. And then Andrew just went completely out of the picture. And I was just daddy. And I've been daddy and will continue to be daddy until the day the good Lord puts me in this dirt.

Oh my God. He is my baby. Like I will kill somebody for that child, bro. Don't, don't come in my kid. I will, I will mess you up. That is so, and it goes to show that like, just when you think you have your life figured out and what you want out of life, like God laughs and it's like, ha, try again. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. I love,

I have been a huge advocate for therapy. You guys know that. I love my in-person therapy, but also I'm traveling a lot right now. And when I travel, I tend to get overwhelmed. I tend to maybe fall behind a little bit. And that's where BetterHelp has come into play for me. BetterHelp is my therapist on the go. If one therapist doesn't work for you,

that's fine. It's not one fits all. You can get another one. So if one doesn't work, don't shut it down. Try it again. When you're at your best, you can do great things, but sometimes life gets you bogged down and you may feel overwhelmed or just like you're not showing up in the way that you would want to. So working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of yourself. When you feel empowered, you're more prepared to take on every

that life throws at you. So I really hope you guys join me on this BetterHelp journey. And if you want to live a more empowered life, therapy can help to get you there. Visit betterhelp.com slash Savannah today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp.com slash Savannah. Y'all know I have been bleaching my hair for years.

The blonder the better.

comes to that, it's led to some hair that's not the healthiest, I will say. That is where Nutrafol has come into play. Nutrafol is the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement. Clinically shown to improve your hair growth, thickness, and visible scalp coverage. Nutrafol supports healthy hair growth from within by targeting the five root causes of thinning. Stress, hormones, environment, nutrition, and metabolism. Through Nutrafol,

the whole body health. Nutrafol has three unique formulas to support women throughout all stages of life, including postpartum and menopause. Each formula is physician formulated using natural drug-free medical grade ingredients and consistently effective dosages. So you get the most reliable results. In a clinical study, 86% of women reported improved hair growth after six months.

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And entering the promo code Chrisley to save $15 off your first month subscription. This is their best offer anywhere, and it's only available to U.S. customers for a limited time. Plus, free shipping on every order. Get $15 off at Nutrafol.com spelled N-U-T-R-A-F-O-L dot com promo code Chrisley. And I heard a thing, a saying.

Like last year sometime, and I was like, wow, man, that's a great quote. And I quote it all the time now, and it's that God only gives you... Or God gives you so much at one time because he knows how much you can handle. So when you think you're overwhelmed or you don't know where to turn and you're so anxiety-ridden with all this stress, you really...

Like he's got it all planned out for you. You just gotta, you just gotta figure out the plan. Like he's not good. He's only going to give you so much to figure it out, you know? Yeah. But he's six now. Yeah. How will be seven in like three weeks? No. Wait, what's his birthday? March 22nd. Okay. So how long did you guys date you and Katie before you got married? Um, about a year, a little over a year and a half. I'm right. I almost two years. Okay. Um, and then I adopted him, uh,

in January, February, March, April, May. I think it's May 18th. May 18th of 2021. And that is the greatest moment in the world. And the reason I can say that is because I was there the day that my parents adopted Chloe, who's the 10-year-old. It's my...

you know, oldest brother's daughter. But I was there for that adoption ceremony and standing in front of a judge and seeing it all go down. And it's like the greatest thing in the entire world. It's like, that's their day. Like, and it was different too, because she was older when it happened. And she, she,

knew she was like so excitedly in up to it she's like it's adoption day it's adoption yeah well because you know i mean dude i've always said this too no no child no kid deserves to feel unloved like at all like they're like i just don't i don't understand it and like one of my best friends back home has um has been huge on that he has two kids of his own and him and his wife has adopted two kids as well and when those two kids got adopted

It was like their whole world just changed. Yeah. And it did. Like, it did, you know? And it's just so, I think adoption is incredible. Like, it's an amazing thing. And I say that as I adopted my son, but it's just. There's too many human beings in this world for a child to go unloved. Unloved, for sure. Without a home, without the care and guidance. Dude, if you got a baby and you don't know how to take care of the baby. Come on. Send it on over. Yeah.

Exactly. Yeah, seriously. I've already got three cows, three goats, three chickens, three dogs, a six-year-old and a wife. What's another one going to do? Another one. Exactly. And so do you guys want kids? I do. I would like to have one more biological child. But at the same time, I don't know. It's a lot to process and take in, especially with everything going on right now with the music and everything.

you know, I already miss a lot. Yeah. And it's like, you know, how much more do you, do you really want to miss? And, um, so it's, it's a lot to think about, but I think we have enough baby cows, baby goats and puppies to, to count in for now. That's amazing though. The adoption story. Cause so many people go through that and so many, and I think the greatest thing is it's like,

You would not love your son any less than you would love a biological child. Like you just, for you, it's like he came from you. For me, I mean, he is my blood. Like, like it doesn't change a thing. And it's so funny too, because people will say all the time, like, oh my goodness. Like, even if my wife is standing right next to us, they'll be like, oh my goodness, he looks just like his daddy. And I'm like, you don't even, you don't even know. That's not even possible. Yeah.

Like, are you like, doesn't literally not possible, but thank you. He is a handsome kid, but it's like, it's so, it's so funny. And then I'll be like, it's, you know, it's funny. Cause he's not even biologically my blood. And they're like, what? Like, he looks just like you. And I'm like, I don't know. Maybe it's just cause we'd been around each other, you know, together for so long. Yeah. So has he gotten to the age to where he like asks questions? Oh my gosh.

the questions don't stop. Oh God. Like it's, this is another reason. I don't know if I want another one. I was talking to a friend of mine just the other day and he was like, yeah, I've got two. And I was like, yeah, man, I, you know, I maybe want to have one more just so he could have, you know, a friend, a companion. And he was like, yeah, you know, me and my wife thought the same thing, but now it's just daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy times two. And I was like, Ooh,

Ooh, hang on a second. Hang on. I'm trying to think of how many times my son says daddy in 42 seconds times two. I don't know about that. I mean, he, he does nothing but ask, but it's, you know, that's part of it. But so does he know though, that like biologically, is he at that point yet? Cause I want to say with Chloe, it was around that age, six, seven. I don't think,

I don't... We haven't told him anything, like really sat him down and said anything to him about it. Which we will. Yeah. You know, that thing definitely takes time. But...

I feel like he definitely knows. Yeah. Like somewhere in him knows, but you know, kids, I mean their memories even till two years old. Yeah. You know what I mean? Kids forget everything. Yeah. Well, well, you say that, but with Chloe, I have learned with,

and therapists, kids do their most developing in the first year of their life. Yeah. And so that first year, it's like, they just know it's the craziest thing. Like Chloe will say something to me and,

It's like she remembers parts of things maybe that her mother did when she was two, three years old, maybe. Yeah. And I'm like, how do you remember that? I hardly remember what I ate for breakfast. Exactly. Exactly. And I'm like, so it's so crazy though, how smart kids are and how much they like internalize things and understand it. It's crazy.

baffling to me. Yeah. I mean, the kids, especially being a six-year-old boy, like he just said, like, I just want to like smack him upside the head sometimes. I'm like, son, don't say that to me. He'll be like, bro. I'm like,

I'm not your bruh. I'm your daddy. Like you call me dad or daddy. And he's just like, bruh. I'm like, oh my goodness. What am I? I don't even know what I'm in for right now, but it's like it all like, you know, he says that and I say that to him and he leaves and I crack up. I'm like, what did he just say? Yeah. Like what in the world? But he, you know, it is. What would you say to, because you've encountered people,

tons of guys obviously music industry outside of music industry but you know how guys operate you know how a lot of times it's like oh they're gonna sleep with this girl that girl whatever you know who's a keeper you know who's not but for guys that maybe discount single mothers and they're just like no I can never I'm not doing it I'm not getting involved in it I'm not

I've just said that you're missing out, man. I mean, you, it's almost like a package deal. You get two people to love you instead of one. Like who wouldn't want to feel loved times two. And I mean, honestly, like anybody that could look at a little baby and then be like you, I'm like, what do you mean? Even if it's a ugly babies are even cuter. You know what I'm saying?

Get that logic. Like ugly babies are even cuter than cute babies. It's like, oh my gosh, he's so cute. He's ugly. Like, you know what I'm saying? No, I've stopped. I will not say that your baby is cute if it's not cute. I will say like, oh my gosh, their outfit is so cute. Or like their shoes are so cute. I will not say your baby's cute if it ain't cute. Nope. Will not do it. You just got to start being blunt. Like, oh my goodness, the outfit is adorable, but the baby is just...

Just not, just not having it. I'm going to pray right now because God's going to strike me for that one. He's going to give me a knuckling baby. So God, please forgive me. Yeah. All right, guys, we know how I love to look snatched, especially in my photos. And that's where shapewear comes into play. And honey love has absolutely changed the game when it comes to shapewear, whether you're a bride again,

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code unlocked, new customers can get Hint for just $1 a bottle with free shipping when they order three cases. That's 36 bottles for $36 and free shipping. Your story is like amazing. Well, thank you. Amazing. And it really is so touching. It gives me hope for good people.

It really does. I mean, I can't, you know, I'm human. I make mistakes. I've made mistakes in my relationship. You know, I've made mistakes with music. I've made mistakes with friendships and all sorts of things. You know, I'm only human and it...

it for me it just doesn't it doesn't take that much energy just to be kind to people you know like it takes more energy to be negative and rude to someone than it does to just be kind to someone it does and so with your music what has been the biggest challenge for you because I know there's plenty of days to where you've probably woken up and said I can't do this anymore oh absolutely like absolutely I've there was a day last week where I was like am I supposed to be

doing this? You know, is this actually what I'm supposed to be doing? And, but then you, you just remember that like, yeah, God wouldn't have given me this opportunity if it wasn't what I was supposed to be doing. Yeah. And, um, it's just a, it definitely is a lot, you know, it's a lot to take in. It's a lot to think about, especially with where, um,

social media is today. Social media can make or break. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And, you know, having, having a big song come off of social media, um, you know, I definitely lost some momentum from that song, a lot of momentum from that song, which I, you don't want to say I'm okay with, but I am okay with it. Like I've, I've just come to deal with it. And now it's like, you know, how do we get that momentum back to do what we need to do to get where we need to be?

But it's tough, you know, it's tough to think of how quickly things can go viral on TikTok and happen on TikTok. And like out of nowhere, that kind of stuff happens. And it's I feel like if we'd have known what we do now,

about TikTok and gone too soon would have gone viral and then we would we would have done what we do now yeah I would be in a completely different situation but you also I think some of the greatest advice to my dad always said to me he was like you know what Savannah he was like there's always going to be someone prettier someone smarter someone more successful he was like but no one's got the heart that you have and no one if you want it bad enough no one can outwork you

So it doesn't matter if you're talented if you're not willing to put in the work behind it. So it's like you could have talent, but the work that you put into it... You could be the most talented person on the planet. Yes. And if you're not putting the work into it, then you're not going to get anywhere. And too, it's like you said, if you would have known what you know now, then you would be in a different place. For sure. But it's also too...

God doesn't give you, God gives you what's yours when he deems it's time to give it to you. Absolutely. You know, and it's like, it's, my dad has said, there's a guy in country music and we were at the ACM awards one year and he stormed out. Uh, this artist stormed out. I was like, this is ridiculous. He was nominated, didn't win. And my dad goes, buddy,

stop it's like it wasn't yours to win yeah it was like why didn't you want something that's not yours yeah it was like so drop the attitude and i'm like that is so true like why do you want something that's not yours right now yep and i just think like you said the power of social media is huge yeah it is huge and i hate tiktok i hate it with a passion and people are coming to me you gotta post on tiktok post on tiktok i'm like no i don't i'm like i need

I need a 12 year old to show me how to do this. I, I didn't even have TikTok on my phone. Like my wife basically did all my TikTok. I didn't even have TikTok on my phone until like,

probably five or six months or months after I signed my record deal, the record label came to me and they were like, Hey, you know, could, could you maybe download it? And, you know, just swipe through every once in a while. Like, you know what I'm saying? I was like, I guess. So I downloaded it. And after like six months of having a record deal, I've like finally downloaded TikTok because normally I'm

Obviously, I'm singing the videos, but there's got to be somebody that's recording them. If it's not me or a little cell phone holder thing, it's normally my wife. She takes it on her phone. Instead of Dropboxing it to me or whatever and it getting bad quality, she just posts it off of hers, and it's perfect. That's amazing. It takes a team. It does. The fact that your wife has been there from day one. Day one. She's been my biggest supporter through...

all of it. Remember that? You better remember that when you make it all big and famous. No, she ain't going nowhere. I like to say, remember us little people, okay? No, she ain't going nowhere. I got this. I don't, I say, I don't really believe in divorce. Okay. Explain that. I wouldn't say don't believe in divorce. If you think that you should, you know, not be with a person and you did get married and you were young, then absolutely. But, you know, I'd

I love my life. I love my wife and my family. See, when it comes to that, I'm so-so. I was engaged, called off my engagement.

And I think that was my biggest fear. Drop the mic. I know. And we... Said bye. But we continued to date for three years after. Wow. Which is a really weird... You never hear that. Wow. Normally you hear just like, done, done. Yeah. But I think divorce was my biggest fear because, I mean, my parents together almost 30 years. Same as my parents have been together for 34 or 5 or something. Yeah. And it's like, I want that. And they were such...

the our generation everyone is so disposable yeah there's always the next best thing the next hottest this or that or and especially with tiktok yes it's like actually every day there's a new song going viral or you know a new video going viral or it's it's hard to keep up with especially if i feel like if i didn't have a kid i'd totally be different as well yeah but

you know, I mean, he gets, he gets home, we got homework to do. And exactly. And there's like, you look at the bigger picture too, because not every day of your marriage is like this fantasy fairy tale love. Oh my God, I want to have sex with you 24 seven and I want to. Sparkles and sunshine. It's like, no, no, no, it's not like it's tough. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. My generation, it's like, everyone's just like, oh, it should be perfect 24 seven. You should,

And I'm like, nah, that ain't, that ain't life. That ain't life dog. What are you going to do when you can't pay your mortgage this month or you can't afford food, you can't afford health insurance. Like that's when you really get in deep into your marriage and you find hope within that person. That, that doing, going through things like that'll make you 10 times stronger. Exactly. And I don't know what it's going to take for our generation to realize that like,

The grass isn't always greener on the other side. Sometimes it's dormant. Yeah, it really is. Sometimes it's dead. It is. And divorce is just looked at as like, oh, well, if it doesn't work out, we can just get divorced. No big deal. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No.

That's not how it's supposed to work. Yeah. No, it's not. And too, I think that's why, like when I called off my engagement, I was like, I, I have to know 110% without a doubt that like, this is the person I'm going to be with for the rest of my life. Yeah. Now, obviously divorce. If you're in an abusive relationship, you're, you know, infidelity, an abusive relationship, holler at me. I'll come whoop somebody's ass. Exactly. Exactly. That,

I don't stand for that. Nope. And so there's obviously circumstances to where divorce is very much a thing and you should follow through with it. Yeah. But also if you spent, if people spent more time fighting for their marriage than they do,

falling into the trap of divorce, I feel like the divorce rate would be so much less. Yeah, absolutely agree with that. Like, I absolutely agree with that. I mean, you know, I mean, look at like our grandparents and great, great grandparents. Yeah.

I mean, my grandmother, I think she and my grandfather were married like 50 years. My grandparents would have been married 60 years. My grandfather passed away two weeks before their 60th. Oh, my gosh. I was like, dude, 60 years? That's insane. Like, 60. Like, I'm at like into- Six, zero. All the transitions in life, like-

It's mind-blowing to me. It's crazy. And that's like, that's what's so amazing. And that love, even after 60 years, I have a song that I wrote about kind of their love. It's called Like Yesterday. Okay. And it's about exactly what they had. It was having a love that felt like yesterday, but it was for an entire, like it was a lifetime. And I will never forget.

I don't know if I'll ever see love the way that my Yaya and pop loved each other. Like it was truly, I mean, she's still, she's still absolutely head over heels in love with him. He ain't even here. That's, that's my grandmother. She's like, anytime I wake up in the middle of the night, I think of, and she was like, she grabs pictures of them and stuff. My grandmother, her screensaver is of her and my grandpa or it's of my grandfather. And she'll just pick it up and like kiss her phone. And I'm like, you know what?

That's what I want. Yeah. And that's what makes me a dude watching a video like that will make me ugly. I know. I'm like my heart. Dude. No, those, those are the ones that get me. I'm a dad. Like the corny stuff is what gets, I don't want to watch the stupid stuff. I want to watch like the soldiers coming home, dude. I'll bawl my eyes out of those videos. I'm like, there's nothing better than a man that's willing to be vulnerable. Like, yeah, that's what I'm learning too, is I also, I,

Would definitely, if I was, would have gotten married, I would have contributed to the divorce rate. I'm very much like independent, like things my way. But I'm also having to work on that in therapy because like no man wants to be laying down with a dude, you know? Like if my, you know, me acting like I run the show, you know, you've got to have like compromise and mutual respect and like,

me kind of in a way like being submissive because in the Bible, it does say like a woman is to be submissive to her husband as a man is to his wife. Like if we would go back to the principles, which I'm trying to do, I haven't contributed to the divorce rate yet. So positive, positive positivity. But I just think, I don't know. I just think it's amazing. And the amount of credit you give to your wife is amazing.

awesome well thank you because a lot of men no she deserves it especially in the industry we know a lot of men like to play around and they don't give their wife their credit they deserve and so dude even if i did she would just find out whoop my ass like yeah like dude women i don't understand it man like no i you could i can find you could you could give a girl if i gave my wife a rifle she'd be like

I don't know what I'm doing with this. If I gave her a cell phone, she could find the location of anybody that you want in this world. 100%. She's like the FBI. I swear she works for the FBI. She just ain't told me yet.

100%. That's how I am. I'm like, you mess around with me and find out. I'm like, you know what? No, no, I'll start talking to all your ex-girlfriends. I'll start, you know, I will go psycho on you. That is hilarious. Oh my gosh. Well, I truly do appreciate you coming on my podcast. Absolutely. Like I said,

Andrew Janakis. I got it. I got it. Y'all his music is absolutely amazing. Thank you. Thank you. Like I said, when you first got here, I was like, wait, he sings that song. Really? Music has always been therapy for me. Same, same. You can like just your talent, everything. I love seeing good guys. When I always say that. And so I'm, I really am praying for your success. Thank you. I appreciate it. I've got a new song coming out. Uh,

next month. Well, it is this month. It's actually February 14th or March 14th. It comes out. That's yeah. You're right. You're right. How did, how did you know before I knew? Actually, I think, I think that I told you, I just couldn't remember. There's a lot of dates. That's right. There's a lot of dates, but yeah. So I have a new song coming out. It's called meet my maker. Um, and it's a, you know, it's a song about the Lord, you know, finding, finding the good Lord in the great outdoors and,

just being out there and, you know, I have, I could say, um,

As we said in the beginning, like I went to church when I was growing up. I lost my faith for a little while for sure. Which I feel like we all do at some point or another. Yeah, absolutely. But I have prayed more in the past two years than I have in my entire life. Like my entire life. And I'm either like a lot of times I'm sitting in my truck and I'm just alone or most of the time I'm sitting in a deer stand and it's just so peaceful to be out there and like watch

watch the world wake up and watch the sun come up over the trees and the birds start chirping and the squirrels start running around. It's so crazy to actually like be out there and witness that you can't not believe. No, you can't. There is a God. If you go witness something like that. Exactly. And truly feeling like that is the presence of God right there. It's crazy. That's awesome. So that comes out March 14th on all streaming platforms, iTunes, Spotify, Spotify,

Any other ones that you can stream on? Amazon music. Amazon music. YouTube.

Any other streaming platforms. Also, this was, I'm doing it. This, uh, this podcast was brought to you by hint water infused with blackberry essence. And if you could please let me know what blackberry essence is, I would really appreciate it because it confuses the hell out of me. Hey, we're good. We're good. Well, thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I appreciate you being here. Absolutely.

Hey, Friday Night Lights fans. It's not only football. Friday Night Lights and beyond is an episode by episode discussion of the hit TV series Friday Night Lights, hosted by yours truly, Scott Porter, who played Jason Street on the show, and my two wonderful co-hosts. Me, Zach Guilford, a.k.a. Matt Saracen. And me, Mae Whitman, a.k.a.

a.k.a. someone who wasn't on the show but really, really loves it a lot. We will also bring on some special guests to answer your questions and tell you about what's going on in our lives today. It's not only football. Friday Night Lights and Beyond is available now wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose! Cheers!