Jimmy Wayne is not afraid to get dark and gritty. North Carolina singer-songwriter Jimmy Wayne signed his first record deal with DreamWorks Nashville in 2001, after being courted by producer Chris Lindsey and James Stroud. His debut was issued in June of 2003 and placed a single in the Top Ten. Wayne's album turned a small industry buzz into a wildfire of publicity and speculation about the new directions he was using in country music and pop, which the industry glommed onto with desperate hope. Nashville's identity problems in the early part of the millennium created a crisis at radio and on CMT, leading the industry into a tailspin due to cookie-cutter artists singing mediocre songs. Wayne may be pretty, but he is substantive and presents an entirely new twist on the entire country tradition. Billboard, country music, and even the Country Music Foundation took an early and large interest in his career. He released Sara Smile in 2009. These days, Jimmy Wayne continues to tour with a fierce, often dark intensity.