Watch Jana Kramer’s Sentimental ‘I Got the Boy’ Video

Jana Kramer remembers driving to South Nashville earlier this year to film the video for her new single “I Got the Boy.” Tennessee was experiencing one of its worst winter storms in recent memory, and traffic was bad. It was even worse once Kramer stepped out of the car.

“We knew it was going to be cold, but we didn’t know it was going to be that cold,” says the singer, who shot one of the video’s climactic scenes outside, framed by icy trees and sleeting snow. 

Directed by Kristin Barlowe, who also shot the video for Kramer’s debut single, “Why You Wanna,” the three-and-a-half minute clip makes the most of the wintry weather. “I Got the Boy” finds Kramer rummaging through a box of teenage love letters written by the one who got away. He’s moved on with his life since then, and she has, too — but she still needs to say goodbye. By the end of the video, she does just that, putting the notes back into their box and flinging open the doors of her house to embrace whatever comes next. . .even if it’s frozen precipitation and an upper respiratory infection. 

“I had the sniffles for about a week and a half since then,” she admits, “but it was so worth it.”

“I Got the Boy” was written by Jamie Lynn Spears, Tim Nichols and Connie Harrington, but it was producer Scott Hendricks — who worked on Kramer’s 2012 debut album and is also producing her still-untitled follow-up — that brought the song to Kramer’s attention. The tune struck a chord in Kramer, who’d dated her high-school boyfriend for three years before moving to Los Angeles after graduation. The two broke up, as teenagers often do. More than a decade later, both parties have moved on; Kramer is a bride-to-be, and her former flame is a married man. Even so, she views “I Got the Boy” as a tribute to the guy she knew years ago, as well as an olive branch to his wife, whom she counts as a friend. 

“It was young love,” she says. “I didn’t want to tell 100 percent my own story because I wanted the listeners to interpret their own version. Every story is different. I even gave the video to my mom to watch, and she said, ‘Wow, it brings me back to my days with Steve.’ Everyone has that name [in their past].” Additional reporting by Deborah Evans Price.