Jimmie Allen never quite warmed up to writing songs over Zoom during the pandemic. In fact, he only attempted it twice. As the world started to reopen, the country artist decided to book an entire week of in-person writing sessions in Los Angeles. Allen was eager to connect with fellow artists and producers face-to-face, and it truly sparked his creativity. One of the sessions he booked was with:
Renowned songwriter and producer Jason Evigan (Demi Lovato's "
Heart Attack," Maroon 5's "
Girls Like You," Dua Lipa's "
Physical," Dan + Shay's "
I Should Probably Go to Bed").
Songwriter-producer Gian Stone. He also worked on "Girls Like You." His resumé also includes hits by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber ("
Stuck With U"), Jonas Brothers ("
Like It's Christmas"), and Meghan Trainor ("
Mother").
Castle, aka singer-songwriter Joel Castillo. He helped Joji write his smash hit "
Glimpse Of Us."
This was the first time that Allen had met the talented trio and their session produced "Be Alright."
With no time to waste, Allen arrived at the studio and declared that he wanted to create an upbeat anthem that reassured listeners that everything will eventually be alright. Without any small talk, they dove right into the creative process.
"When you start a session, especially when you don't know the other people, there's like 30 minutes, an hour, hour and a half of easing into writing a song,"
Stone told Billboard. "You talk and you kind of get a background, and you do all this stuff. And in a weird way, that kind of happened two hours into this. We jumped in right away."
Evigan used his cigar-box guitar to create a lively and playful opening riff that perfectly matched Allen's positive and upbeat theme. During the session, Evigan and Stone worked tirelessly on the musical aspects of the song, while Allen and Castle fervently delved into crafting the message.
"Castle has like, crazy, wild energy," said Evigan. "He just keeps the room going, and then Jimmie is the same way. I mean, he was preaching. He's really well spoken and has just so much to say. So we're kind of sitting back like kids, taking notes."
To cap off the creative process, Jimmie Allen sang over the day's programmed tracks, and during the final take, he spontaneously broke into another catchy hook - a simple yet infectious repetition of the phrase, "alright, alright, alright." The team loved it, and during the ad-lib track at the end of the session, they decided to turn it into a post-chorus. They referred to it as a "super chorus," which was a term that Evigan used growing up in bands.
After Allen left, the team continued to work on the song's structure, including the idea of doubling the "roll with it" section. They repeated the seven-line passage twice during the first and third occurrence, while keeping the second one at its original length. Allen ultimately approved the song's structure, and with the changes made, the team felt it had a rolling and uplifting quality that just felt good.
Reflecting on the process, Evigan noted that there was a lot of science that went into it afterward. At first, they weren't sure of the song's direction and structure, but the doubled "roll with it" section helped give it a sense of momentum and cohesiveness.
Allen placed "Be Alright" as the opening track on his album, Tulip Drive, which was released by Stoney Creek on June 24, 2022. However, the singer already had an alternate version in mind that he believed would be more suitable for airing on country radio. Allen respects the platform and understands that to be played on country radio, he needs to provide them with what they want.
To create a radio-friendly version, Allen and his manager/producer Ash Bowers recut the song at Front Stage on Nashville's Music Row with a live band on July 5, 2022. Allen made a few changes, altering the chorus' opening phrase from "Smoke it and roll with it" to "You gotta roll with it." The result is "Be Alright (15 Edition)," which maintains the laid-back and carefree vibe of the original but with added country-rock crunch from additional electric guitar and live drums.
Allen named the revised version "Be Alright (15 Edition)" in honor of his late father, who was a baseball enthusiast and wore the number 15 on his jersey. Stoney Creek released the new edition to country radio on March 21, 2023.
