DEK Of Hearts single puts Marshfield, Mo., native in country’s big comeback
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3/Makayla Mais) - Country music is having a major moment. And a Marshfield native is right in the middle of it.
Friday, Kollin Bailey and his trio, DEK of Hearts, just dropped their new single “Jumpin’ Jack,” which will make its Grand Ole Opry debut this weekend during the group’s third appearance on the legendary stage.
“Jumpin’ Jack” is a dark, cheeky story song inspired by The Chicks’ “Goodbye Earl” and Carrie Underwood’s “Two Black Cadillacs,” but with a new spin. It’s told from the perspective of a woman who discovers Jack is cheating. Rumors build until Jack suddenly vanishes.
DEK of Hearts member Dylan John says leaning into that crime-style storytelling let them have fun while walking a fine line. The trio brought in a fellow contestant from “The Voice – Team Reba’s Cori Kennedy – to help shape the twisted story while keeping their pop-country sound.
“This one is a little bit more cheeky in our storytelling. It talks about killing someone, so it’s like you have to do that in a way and be careful,” John said. “But we just kind of had fun with this song and just kind of made it up as we kept going. Bringing someone like Cori on, you get a fresh perspective. Since she’s such a good writer, she can kind of fit the tone of what we’re needing. She was able to keep it DEK of Hearts.”
Member Emily Clapp says they also wove the names of women in their own family straight into the lyrics.
“We wrote a lot of women in our family into the song. Not all of them, but a good chunk of them,” Clapp said. “Karen, Shannon, Jan, and Jen; Rita, Barb, Sue and Diane. That’s our moms and aunts and grandmas. We wrote it in a way that was kind of cheeky, like they’re kind of gossiping about the Jack that you’ll meet.”
The release comes as country music surges back to the top of the charts – with a new Variety report showing country acts recently took all five spots on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in history. John and Bailey say that wave is creating space for independent groups like DEK of Hearts.
“As independent artists, I just think that’s great that people are hungry for it,” John says. “Even though you might not get a big song like Ella Langley, you can get something that they’re like, ‘Hey, I like this. I love country music, I’m down to listen to whatever’, and I think that’s good.”
“What we’re doing is a little bit different than what is kind of mainstream right now,” Bailey said. “There’s not a ton of groups at the forefront of country music. The lane for what we’re doing is more open than a solo artist has entering the genre right now. It’s very encouraging, makes us very hopeful.”
Next up, the trio is turning to the holidays. Their “Deck The Halls With DEK of Hearts” Christmas tour will bring a mix of holiday favorites and original songs to the Cowan Civic Center in Lebanon on December 6th.
Tickets aren’t on sale yet. You can head to the group’s website to sign up for their mailing list to be sent a presale link before tickets go on sale to the public.
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