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How Jordan McGraw Is Hitting All the Right Notes During the Remember This Tour

As part of E!'s Backstage Pass, Jordan McGraw took fans behind the scenes of his summer tour with the Jonas Brothers and Kelsea Ballerini. Find out why the upcoming shows are extra special.

By Mike Vulpo, Amanda Williams Aug 23, 2021 1:00 PMTags

Congratulations! You just scored a backstage pass to the hottest tickets in town.

After COVID-19 put a pause on live entertainment, your favorite artists are ready to hit the road and entertain audiences safely with brand-new tours and experiences. And regardless of where you are, we're offering an all-access ticket to every must-see concert of the summer. Welcome to E!'s Backstage Pass.

If you ask Jordan McGraw, it's going to be impossible not to remember this time in his life.

On Aug. 20, the 34-year-old singer helped kick off the Remember This tour with Kelsea Ballerini and the Jonas Brothers. And like so many artists today, Jordan can't wait to perform his biggest hits like "SHE" and "HER" in front of thousands of fans. 

"I mean, music for me has always been kind of an escape and my favorite part of playing music for people is watching them escape for two or three minutes at a time over the course of my set," Jordan exclusively shared with E! News. "I think, right now, everybody needs that more than ever."

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Dierks Bentley's Beers on Me Tour

"I have a couple friends that have started their tours and they say that every person at the show is just smiling ear to ear and ready to have the best time," he continued. "So, I've got the bar set pretty high and I think the crowds are just gonna blow that out of the water."

Isné Bobo Nuyent

Now through Oct. 28, Jordan will help start the party on Nick, Kevin and Joe Jonas' latest tour. And no matter where the shows are, Jordan knows he has the support of the guys and his wife Morgan Stewart McGraw.

"She's the best," he gushed to E! News. "I know whatever I play for her, she's going to be absolutely honest and I love that. She's kind of been my sounding board for anything that I've tried. I sound like a broken record because she's so awesome, but I couldn't ask for a better person to kind of throw things out and be like, 'How's this?'"

And when it comes to the couple's 6-month-old daughter Row, she's already a big fan of dad's musical skills. As Jordan explained, "I think she might be able to stay up late enough to put on the giant headphones and come watch…She just loves music, which is awesome."

Isné Bobo Nuyent

For now, Jordan is savoring every moment on stage with artists he has grown close with over the years. And yes, he's happy to give E! News an exclusive look at his rehearsals below.  

"After such a long year-plus of having to figure out a new version of ourselves locked inside, I just hope that people come ready to enjoy themselves again and have the kind of fun that we've all been talking about missing," Jordan shared when teasing his shows. "I just hope people let go for each of our sets and just have fun and party."

Sounds of Summer

As part of the Remember This 2021 tour with Kelsea Ballerini and the Jonas Brothers, Jordan McGraw will perform hits from his new EP. "I had a pretty happy quarantine. I got married. I had a baby. A lot of positive things happened while I was inside and so I really took a chance at the beginning of the quarantine to kind of readdress how I was sounding and kind of the vibe that I was putting out," Jordan explained. "I really decided that now is the time for me to just be unapologetically me and just do exactly what I want and really take a hold of my influences so I kind of came out of it as a '90s kid making '80s influenced pop punk in 2020. It's a little bit of Blink-182, a little bit of Duran Duran sprinkled in there and just a whole lot of really fun lyrics."

Brothers' Bond

Jordan shared details about his friendship with the Jonas Brothers that extends far beyond the stage. "Joe will send me ideas that he's working on. I'll send Nick an idea that I'm working on and it's just your friends sending you a song and we kind of bounce ideas off of each other," he explained. "'HER' was actually a song that Nick had just started and didn't have a place for it, so they let me kind of put my own spin on it and make it mine and it's just this big friendly inappropriate joke making community."

New Priorities

Now that he's a married man and father to a baby girl, Jordan cares a lot less about the critics. "Everything around me is so happy that now, I just don't care," he confessed. "As long as people are having fun listening to it. I used to focus on that one crap that would pop up in the comments. But now, it's all about positivity for me."

Happy Place

"I look around and smile at what's going on in my life," Jordan shared during rehearsals. "Why would I not just capture that?"

Getting Inked

When asked if he will be getting a new tattoo to commemorate the tour, Jordan joked, "If I put it in writing, my wife will kill me. Unofficially, yes. Of course I will."

Fashion Game

Yes, Jordan put away the sequin pants from last tour. Now, his wife is helping out in the fashion department. "It's definitely kind of elevated pop punk vibes so I'm excited to just be actually comfortable," he shared. "The sequined pants, they don't breathe."

Preparations

"I'm an over-preparer so leading up to the tour, much to my band's frustration, I make us rehearse like non-stop," Jordan admitted. "We run the set, probably five times a day every day, and only take a couple off. By the time we get to the show, there's nothing to worry about...My number one rule for everybody on stage is just have absolutely the most fun that you could possibly have."

Drink Please

When asked to share his drink of choice before performing, Jordan didn't hesitate with his answer. "Tequila 100%," he said, "with a little Topo Chico in it." Cheers to an unforgettable tour! 

Want more inside access? Go behind the scenes of Dierks Bentley's Beers on Me tour and see how J Balvin's stage persona differs from his personal life. 

For the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic and for tips on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, please visit The Center for Disease Control and Prevention at https://www.cdc.gov. To plan your vaccine, head to NBC's Plan Your Vaccine site at PlanYourVaccine.com.