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It’s true! Jamie O’Neal’s signature song “There Is No Arizona” had some doubters. In fact, she might have\u00a0started her career with a different song if not for one champion of\u00a0this\u00a02000 breakup ballad.<\/p>\n
This Friday (Sept. 12), O’Neal will release a re-recording of “There is No Arizona”<\/a> that Taste of Country is proud to premiere here. Vocally, the two versions are remarkably similar, which speaks to how the early ’00s hitmaker has worked hard to preserve her voice.<\/p>\n Lyrically, the song still works as well. “There Is No Arizona” is country music’s original catfish\u00a0warning, inspired by a very famous author and his very famous book-turned-movie, but driven by the men who led her along before she got married.<\/p>\n Related<\/strong><\/em>: The 25 Best Country Songs of the Last 25 Years<\/a><\/p>\n Lisa Drew and Shaye Smith co-write “There Is No Arizona” with O’Neal. For months afterward the singer says she couldn’t get the story and melody out of her head. She was excited!<\/p>\n \u201cAnd scared at the same time because a lot of people … they would say \u2018Oh, that\u2019s really risky,'” she tells Taste of Country.<\/p>\n The doubts were over a “jazzy” arrangement, but when viewed through a modern lens it’s also easy to wonder if listeners would give her story the time needed to appreciate the message.<\/p>\n For that, O’Neal had author Stephen King’s (unwitting) help. A popular book\/movie called Dolores Claiborne<\/em> found a young woman lying about a job before eventually admitting there was no Arizona, as in there was no job in that state.<\/p>\n “We were like, how do we turn this into a heartbreak song?” she shares.<\/p>\n Keith Stegall produced the song. He was the one bull-headed enough to insist on it being the debut single, doubters be damned. It paid off, obviously.<\/p>\n In 2025, the oft-covered song remains popular at country radio and a must-hear for fans at live shows. From time to time, O’Neal will be out running errands or driving around when the familiar guitar plucking, humming and harmonica begin.<\/p>\n “It takes me back to the feeling of being a new artist and being fresh-eyed,” she shares, smiling, from a hotel room in Arizona, where she’s set to perform later that night. “And also just feeling the gift of they\u2019re still playing it.”<\/p>\n This new version is a gift for a gift.<\/p>\n Enjoy 40 of the best songs from 2000 to 2009. Each one came and went like a tornado. Most deserve a little more respect 15, 20 or 25 years later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
Forgotten 2000s Country Songs: 40 Great Country Hits, 2000-2009<\/h2>\n