Leo33’s rising country artist Jenna Paulette teams with Jake Worthington on a new duet version of the track “Chasin’ Whiskey,” uncorking a barstool ballad with a lonesome badlands sway.
Out today and written by Joe Fox and Tony Lane, the tune was originally released as a solo track on Paulette’s 2024 sophomore album, Horseback, and now finds a broken-hearted pair drowning their sorrows, after love rode off into the sunset for good.
Choosing Worthington as her duet partner was an easy choice for Paulette, who explained their connection, sharing, “Jake and I have been friends for a while, his wife Sophie and I had our babies a few weeks apart and we both hail from Texas with strong ties to Oklahoma. Outside of that, he’s just hard not to love. He has one of the most iconic voices of our generation and I’m just so thankful that he hopped on this song with me. It feels like it should’ve always been this way.”
“I’m honored to be on this song with my friend Jenna,” Worthington adds. “I think she’s stand up, 10 out of 10, one of one. I think this song’s great, it’s got a great story, we’ve all been there, and I’m proud to sing it with her.”
Featuring a dark-neon vibe built on aching Western fiddle and woozy steel guitar, Paulette’s pristine twang joins Worthington’s barrel-chested baritone, as the new-age country traditionalists come to the same, unfortunate conclusion: You can’t fence in a wild heart.
“Chasin’ Whiskey” (feat. Jake Worthington) follows the September release of Paulette’s easy-rolling “Steady,” which the lifelong cowgirl co-wrote with Will Bundy and Rhett Akins. All about the romantic bliss of a trusty, dependable partner, the tune marks a preview of Paulette’s upcoming 2026 recording project.
Meanwhile, the Texas native likewise teamed with hitmaker Ashley McBryde on a new duet version of “The Prophet (Grandaddy’s Song),” which was also featured on Horseback as a solo ballad.
In other news, the new mom recently welcomed the fall line of her CowboyGirl range-wear collection, in partnership with Ely Cattleman. Arriving one year after her women’s fashion brand launched, it features fresh seasonal details – including new autumn-oriented colors, a seasonal plaid and an expansion of the line to include the Little CowboyGirl collection (designed with the same fabrics in a “mommy down” style for mothers and daughters to wear together).
About Jenna Paulette:
A CMT Next Women of Country honoree and an Apple Music’s Country Riser, singer-songwriter Jenna Paulette – a cowgirl who came of age amid the gritty realities of ranch life – is part of Nashville’s growing wave of female artists who are rewriting the rules and charting their own paths. Paulette settled in Nashville in 2015, where she struck up a mentorship with Ashley Gorley – a veteran songwriter with 80+ No. 1 tunes under his belt – which ultimately led to her publishing deal with Sea Gayle Music in June 2021. Since collaborating with songwriters Will Bundy, Rhett Akins, and Jessie Jo Dillion, as well as opening for Mason Ramsey, Parmalee, John Michael Montgomery, Clay Walker, and most recently Aaron Watson, Paulette has landed brand partnerships with Justin Boots, Boot Barn, Ely Cattleman, and Ranch Water.
With the arrival of her debut album The Girl I Was in 2023, Grammy.com remarked the project as “transformative,” noting it “fuses the sounds of [Shania] Twain and Miranda Lambert, tackling mental health with the somber ‘You Ain’t No Cowboy’ and waxing philosophical on ‘Country In The Girl.’” She continued to spotlight her authentic Western lifestyle last year, performing the national anthem at the National Finals Rodeo, making her Grand Ole Opry debut and performing at multiple festivals, including CMA Fest. Paulette recently signed with independent label Leo33. Paulette’s sophomore album, Horseback, is available everywhere now. For more information, visit www.jennapaulette.com.
About Jake Worthington:
For Big Loud Texas traditionalist Jake Worthington, country music is in his DNA. The La Porte, Texas native was raised on his grandfather's porch performances of Ray Price, Merle Haggard and George Jones, and soon picked up his own Gibson acoustic to realize the breadth of his soon-to-be-classic, wide, and wild voice. Now, Worthington breathes fresh life into dance halls, beer joints, and ballrooms from Texas to Tennessee with his growing catalog – his sophomore album When I Write The Song is out now with Miranda Lambert collaboration “Hello Shitty Day,” “I’m The One (feat. Marty Stuart),” viral “It Ain’t The Whiskey” and more. Captivating the masses with his honky-tonk stylings, the singer-songwriter hits the road this fall joining Zach Top as direct support on all dates of the Cold Beer & Country Music Tour followed by supporting slots on Jon Pardi’s Honkytonk Hollywood Tour. “I believe in country music as much as I believe in my next breath,” Worthington declares, and “blame it on my raising, but I think there ought to be room for country in country music.”