Jason Reeves talks Terrified, Kara DioGuardi, Idol’s Didi Benami

Even if you haven’t heard his name, you’ve almost certainly heard some of the songs he’s co-written for a litany of notable artists over the past three years, which includes the majority of Colbie Caillat’s catalog, songs from Katharine McPhee’s latest album, and songs for other artists ranging from Lenka to Demi Lovato. But don’t overlook the fact that Jason Reeves, the twenty-five year old Iowan turned Californian, has a solo career as a singer-songwriter in his own right which will culminate in his major label album debut later this year.

But his upcoming television appearance on the George Lopez show this Monday night will instead feature a performance of Terrified, a song he co-wrote with American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, which turned into a duet between Reeves and Katharine McPhee on her album Unbroken – and then became a part of Idol once one of the contestants got ahold of it.

Speaking with Beatweek today by phone during a tour stop, Jason Reeves explained the etymology of the song: “Kat McPhee recorded it for her new record, and her and I did a duet of it on there, and then after that Didi Benami, the girl that was just on American Idol, sang that song on the show, and it’s just been getting a crazy amount of views, and it’s just kind of become its own little thing.”

He further explains that it was the first song that he and DioGuardi had ever written together: “You could write a pretty bad song on the first time you write with someone, just simply because you’re not familiar with them or how they write, and it was just really cool because that one came out really fast for us, and we kind of realized that there was something special about it right away.” The pair also teamed with Colbie Caillat to co-write her current single I Never Told You; Caillat and Reeves co-wrote her earlier hits Bubbly and Realize.

Beatweek’s full interview with Jason Reeves, in which he reveals key details of his upcoming solo album (including its title and his collaborators), will be published on Beatweek.com on Monday and in Beatweek Magazine on Tuesday. Jason’s duet of “Terrified” with Kara DioGuardi will be performed on Lopez Tonight on TBS, this Monday night at 11pm (yes, the much-discussed TBS time slot which Conan O’Brien will be claiming in November).

If you’re looking for something to read in the mean time, Beatweek spoke with Colbie Caillat late last year, and spoke with Katharine McPhee earlier this year.