Shane Profitt currently has a Top 20 hit with his debut single, “How It Oughta Be.” The song is from his freshman Maury County Line, released last year on Big Machine Records. His success, and rapid embrace by country music fans, can be attributed to hard work, persistence, determination — and a chance encounter at a sushi restaurant with Chris Janson, while on his first and last date with a young woman.

“She said that she wanted sushi, and just the thought of that turned my stomach,” Profitt recalls to Everything Nash with a laugh. “I wasn’t gonna say no. So I punched in ‘sushi near me’ on my iPhone. We get there, and we go to walk in, and Chris Janson holds the door for me.”

Not one to let an opportunity pass him by, Profitt, who had a blue-collar job working for the city in his hometown of Columbia, Tennessee at the time, later approached Janson, while the Grand Ole Opry member was dining with his wife, Kelly.

“I told him what a fan I was, and that it would mean the world to me if he would listen to some of the music I’d been writing,” Profitt shares. “His wife, Kelly, before he could even say anything, spoke up and said, ‘Hey, I’m Kelly. I’m his wife. I’m also his manager. I’m also a music publisher. Is that a receipt you’re holding in your hand? I’ll write my email down on it. You can send me some songs. You have our word we’ll listen to it.”

The story could have ended there, except Profitt, thanks to his Southern upbringing, replied with, “Yes, ma’am, that would be great,” earning instant respect from Janson.

“He said, ‘Did you just say yes ma’am?’ And I said, ‘Yes, sir,'” Profitt shares. “He said, ‘I like that a lot. Pull up the chair and talk to me.’ So I did. We ended up talking for over an hour that night.”

Profitt may not have walked out of that restaurant with a second date, but he did leave with plans to get together with Janson, which he did. And shortly thereafter, Janson not only offered him a publishing deal, but the chance to open for him on his 2023 headlining tour.

“They’re like family, honestly,” Profitt boasts. “They really are. Everybody has those few people in their life that they could call at any point in time. And the Jansons are that for me, and I’m that for the Jansons.”

Profitt is working on a new album to be released later this year. Find all of his music and upcoming shows at ShaneProfitt.com.