Jami Grooms Stuns The Hook with “Paid For It”

Any music fan who’s paying any bit of attention is probably frustrated how some of their favorite songs and songwriters feel overlooked in this frenetic moment in music when buzzy radio singles and viral TikTok stars are all the rage.

Even more frustrating, you know there are killer songwriters out there, but you just don’t know how or where to even find them, while songwriters in search of an audience don’t always find the fans to support their efforts. This dilemma is exacerbated by the onslaught of AI and all the disruptions downstream of it that promise only to get worse in the impending months and years. That’s why the songwriting showcase The Hook was founded.

The Hook was built for a songwriter like Jami Grooms. When he showed up to the first test run on September 1st and said he was going to perform a song called “The Night I Killed Myself,” he immediately set a high bar that felt difficult to impossible to hurdle. Then he proceeded to hurdle it like it was nothing, earning The Hook’s coveted Gold Patch.

Jami Grooms returned to the second installment of The Hook on September 29th, again with high expectations, and once again surpassed them with his song “Paid For It.” Originally from his 2019 album Just A Drunken Vessel and co-written with Mark Narmore, it’s the perfect specimen of Jami Grooms songwriting.

Grooms commonly works his faith into his songs, but not in a way that comes across a preachy. It’s honest, vulnerable, and revealing, while appealing to folks of all stripes. As Grooms says, “My songs maybe my most honest self. I’m a saved by Jesus, but a constant dance partner of the Devil. Daily trying to be a better human but often missing the mark.”

As guest panelist Vince Herman said, addressing this issue of abortion in a country song is not a simple undertaking. In many respects, you’d have to be crazy to do so. But Jami tackles the thorny subject with honesty and grace in a way that makes the message feel uncommonly universal.

Jami Grooms has released multiple singles and albums over the years, including the song “Her Little Man” that has 3 1/2 million streams on Spotify alone. He also co-wrote the song “Devil Ain’t Done” that appeared on Brent Cobb’s 2023 album Southern Star. To some songwriters, Jami Grooms has found serious success. But it still feels like Jami Grooms is one of those under-appreciated songwriters that the world is waiting for, and wanting if not needing to hear.

Over the coming days and weeks, there will be more performance videos and other highlights from The Hook’s pilot taping released, with the full episode coming soon. You can subscribe to The Hook on YouTube to get alerts whenever new videos are posted, and also follow The Hook on Instagram, Facebook, and Tik-Tok. Stay tuned for info on future tapings of The Hook as well.

The Hook is hosted by award-winning songwriter Caitlin Cannon, and yours truly, Trigger of Saving Country Music. The Hook allows ANYONE to come up and perform a song in search of the next great song and songwriter.