Jordan Schmidt
Jordan Schmidt is an American mixing engineer, record producer, and songwriter. His portfolio covers musical styles including pop, country, rock, and alternative.
Schmidt was born in Duluth, Minnesota to local musicians. He started recording and mixing musicians from the area while in high school. He honed his engineering and mixing skills in Maryland with producer Matt Squire. In 2006, he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he mixed and produced local musicians, including his older brother, Dane Schmidt.
In 2012, Schmidt moved to Nashville, Tennessee and entered a publishing agreement with Tree Vibez Music in 2015, focusing on writing songs. Schmidt penned the 2016 country rock song "Lights Come On", recorded by Jason Aldean, which reached number one on the Billboard charts. The song was awarded Gold certification by the RIAA on January 31, 2017. As a writer or co-writer, he has had six more songs reach number-one since.
Early life
Jordan Mark Schmidt was born in Duluth, Minnesota on February 26, 1988, the second of three children of local musicians Mark Schmidt and Tammy Jannetta. Schmidt has an older brother, Dane, and a younger sister.In 1983, Schmidt's parents co-founded a cover band, MYNX. His mother was the lead singer, while his father played electronic keyboards. MYNX attracted a fan following in Duluth and nearby areas. The Schmidt children grew up observing and occasionally participating in their parents' performances. In an interview, Schmidt recalled, "I grew up going, watching them. I loved all that. I thought I wanted to be a rock star."
A self-taught guitarist, Schmidt was playing in local bands by the time he turned 15. Since Duluth had no recording studios, he also began mixing his Blink-182 cover band and other local musicians. In 2003, he assisted his older brother and his acoustic alternative band "And Then I Turned Seven" in mixing their debut album,. He again assisted his brother's band's second recording and their first EP, "," in 2005.
Schmidt stayed enrolled at Central High School in Duluth, Minnesota, until he completed his studies and graduated in June 2006. Initially, he tried to balance engineering and performing, but eventually, the technical aspect prevailed. Schmidt has credited his success to his Duluth roots, suggesting it may not have happened if he had come from a larger city.
Music career
Following high school, Schmidt worked alongside producer Matt Squire before establishing his own studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After he got situated, he started working with local bands. He was including the recording engineer for Motion City Soundtrack's January 2010 release My Dinosaur Life, for his older brother's band Jamestown Story, for The Role Call, and for Paradise Fears' album Yours Truly released in 2011.In 2012, Schmidt relocated to Nashville, Tennessee with his brother and manager, Dane. They established their first music venture and spent the next couple of years writing, producing and releasing music. A chance encounter with Florida Georgia Line's Brian Kelley in late 2014 led Schmidt to shift his focus to writing full-time and shortly after, he landed his first publishing deal as a songwriter. In April 2015, Schmidt signed a publishing deal with Tree Vibez Music. In July 2016, Schmidt collaborated on his first #1 song with Jason Aldean's "Lights Come On."
Schmidt wrote Kane Brown's 2017 song "What Ifs", which was awarded RIAA 9xPlantium certification on January 31, 2017. In 2018, he co-wrote Jason Aldean's "You Make It Easy", which was awarded RIAA 6xPlantium certification. In July 2019, Schmidt co-wrote Blake Shelton's "God's Country", which was awarded RIAA 4xPlantium certification. The song also won Single of the Year for the 53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards, as well as a Grammy nomination for the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in the Best Country Solo Performance category.
During the pandemic Schmidt wrote & produced Nelly/Florida Georgia Line's 3× Platinum "Lil Bit" along with Blake Shelton's "Come Back as a Country Boy". In 2022, he achieved his fifth number one with Kane Brown's "Like I Love Country Music", which was awarded RIAA Gold certification on April 3, 2023.
In 2022, Schmidt collaborated on Brown's "Bury Me in Georgia." The song was awarded RIAA Platinum certification on February 29, 2024. In May 2023, Schmidt teamed-up for his seventh number one song with the release of Lainey Wilson's "Watermelon Moonshine."
Personal life
In July 2017, Schmidt and Renee Blair met during one of her live shows in Nashville. Schmidt had attended the show with the intention of reaching out to her to discuss a songwriting collaboration. They started dating and got engaged on September 17, 2021.Blair and Schmidt were married on September 24, 2022 at Oakley Hall at Riverview in Nashville. Among the guests were Mitchell Tenpenny, Katie Stevens, The Band Camino, Hardy, Polow da Don, and Dan Smyers of Dan + Shay. The couple welcomed their first child, a boy, on August 11, 2023.
Discography
RIAA songs and albums
This table displays Singles and Albums certified by the RIAA. Each chart item has achieved significant sales milestones. The following RIAA certifications are included:- Gold: 500,000 units
- Platinum: 1,000,000 units
- Multi-Platinum: 2,000,000 units and above
| Certified Sales | Single | Artist | Certification date | Notes |
| 9× Platinum | "What Ifs" feat. Lauren Alaina | Kane Brown | April 2, 2024 | |
| 6× Platinum | "You Make It Easy" | Jason Aldean | September 1, 2022 | |
| 4× Platinum | "God's Country" | Blake Shelton | May 7, 2021 | |
| 3× Platinum | "Lil Bit" feat. Florida Georgia Line | Nelly | September 23, 2022 | |
| 2× Platinum | "Wait In The Truck" feat. Lainey Wilson | Hardy | September 28, 2023 | |
| 2× Platinum | "Drunk Me" | Mitchell Tenpenny | October 10, 2019 | |
| 2× Platinum | "5 Foot 9" | Tyler Hubbard | March 8, 2024 | |
| 2× Platinum | "Country Ass Shit" | Morgan Wallen | November 19, 2021 | |
| Platinum | Dancin' in the Country | Tyler Hubbard | March 8, 2024 | |
| Platinum | "Bury Me in Georgia" | Kane Brown | February 29, 2024 | |
| Platinum | "Like I Love Country Music" | Kane Brown | December 7, 2023 | |
| Platinum | "Truth About You" | Mitchell Tenpenny | February 6, 2023 | |
| Platinum | "Wishful Drinking" feat. Sam Hunt | Ingrid Andress | November 8, 2022 | |
| Platinum | "Caught Up In The Country" | Rodney Atkins | October 28, 2021 | |
| Platinum | "Rednecker" | Hardy | March 22, 2021 | |
| Platinum | "Single Man" | High Valley | March 16, 2021 | |
| Platinum | "Like a Rodeo" | Kane Brown | March 17, 2020 | |
| Platinum | "Memories" | One Ok Rock | March 2015 | |
| Gold | "Bucket List' | Mitchell Tenpenny | February 2, 2024 | |
| Gold | "We Got History" | Mitchell Tenpenny | September 21, 2023 | |
| Gold | "Take Me Home for Christmas" | Dan + Shay | February 3, 2022 | |
| Gold | "Blessings" | Florida Georgia Line | November 20, 2020 | |
| Gold | "Anything She Says" feat. Seaforth | Mitchell Tenpenny | October 20, 2020 | |
| Gold | "Alcohol You Later" | Mitchell Tenpenny | June 5, 2020 | |
| Gold | "Like a Rodeo" | Kane Brown | March 17, 2020 | |
| Gold | "Happens Like That" | Granger Smith | June 13, 2019 | |
| Gold | "Smooth" | Florida Georgia Line | January 12, 2018 | |
| Gold | "Lights Come On" | Jason Aldean | January 31, 2017 |
| Certified Sales | Album | Artist | Certification date | Notes |
| 2× Platinum | Dangerous: The Double Album | Morgan Wallen | Nov 19, 2021 | |
| 2× Platinum | Kane Brown | Kane Brown | Mar 17, 2020 | |
| Platinum | Experiment | Kane Brown | Mar 17, 2020 | |
| Platinum | Dig Your Roots | Florida Georgia Line | Aug 7, 2017 | |
| Platinum | 35xxxv | One Ok Rock | Mar 2015 | |
| Gold | Tyler Hubbard | Tyler Hubbard | Apr 12, 2024 | |
| Gold | Stereotype | Cole Swindell | Oct 3, 2023 | |
| Gold | Different Man | Kane Brown | Apr 3, 2023 | |
| Gold | Telling All My Secrets | Mitchell Tenpenny | Aug 5, 2022 |