Most artists spend years submitting their music before an awards committee ever notices. Paulino did it on his first try. The singer-songwriter, born Jason Paulino, is back home after the 12th Annual Josie Music Awards at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House on September 20, where he took his place among the nominees for Song of the Year – Rock Artist with his heartfelt single “Don’t Give Up On Me.” It was the very first year he had ever entered his music.
That is no small achievement. The Josie Music Awards are the largest independent music awards organization in the world, and this year’s nominees were chosen from more than 100,000 submissions. To be singled out in a field that crowded, on the first attempt, says a great deal about the song and the man who wrote it.
“Don’t Give Up On Me” is a deeply personal record, and Paulino has said the nomination meant more to him than any trophy could. “Words cannot express what I am feeling,” he said after the nominations were announced. “The recognition of being heard and understood in such a personal song confirmed I’m achieving my dreams and right where I’m supposed to be.” Standing inside the Opry House on awards night, surrounded by fellow independent artists, songwriters and legends, he got to live that feeling in person.
The road to that night began in Massachusetts. Paulino grew up in Hudson and moved to Clinton in 2005, and for nearly two decades, he has been the voice at the front of The Great Escape: A Tribute to Journey, the band he has fronted since its formation in 2008. Anyone who has ever tried to sing Journey knows what that demands. Those soaring, unforgiving melodies require serious range, stamina and heart, and Paulino has delivered them night after night at clubs, casinos, fairs and feasts throughout New England and beyond.
Last year, he made the leap. Paulino moved to the Nashville area to pursue a solo career as a singer-songwriter and recording artist, betting on his own songs in the most competitive music city in America. Just about a year later, one of those songs carried him onto the stage of the Grand Ole Opry House. Few gambles pay off that quickly.
Stepping out on his own has not meant leaving his roots behind. Paulino still fronts The Great Escape whenever he can, and he remains fiercely proud of his Portuguese heritage. This summer, he headlined the Friday night show at the Senhor da Pedra Feast at New Bedford’s Madeira Field, a free concert he had been eagerly anticipating, and he has called on his community to come out and support him every step of the way. They have answered.
Now back from Music City, Paulino is carrying the momentum forward. The Great Escape returns to The Vault Music Hall and Pub in downtown New Bedford on Saturday, December 5, 2026, and his solo career is only just getting started. “Don’t Give Up On Me” is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube.
The title of his nominated song could not be more fitting. Paulino never gave up on himself, not through the years of singing other people’s anthems, not through the leap to Nashville, not through the uncertainty of starting over. And in his very first year of trying, Music City made it clear it will not be giving up on him either.
Stream “Don’t Give Up On Me” by Paulino on Spotify here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/01pg8IIHfi2cVJqv0LOdOr?si=0F0TKeGIRMGSVykMZBy7qw