One Hit Wondering – Saving Jane

One Hit Wondering is a series of columns where I listen to the album of a one hit wonder, and find three songs, other than the hit, that people should hear. 

Comparison is the thief of joy, and on Saving Jane’s mid-‘00s hit single “Girl Next Door” that comparison was the frustration of not quite measuring up to the perfect girl every high school seems to have (except for mine, because mine was all-male).

A pop song with a rock attitude, frontwoman Marti Dodson kicked off the chorus singing, “She is the prom queen, I’m in the marching band / She is a cheerleader, I’m sitting in the stands,” and many listeners related to her plight.

If that lyric feels oddly familiar, like maybe you’ve heard a certain current pop queen sing something very similar, I’m gonna get to that, don’t worry.

“Girl Next Door” was initially released in August of 2005, with the video coming out in February of 2006 after the band moved from an indie label to a major. The clip made its TRL debut in April of that year, coming in at #9.

The single went gold (500k copies sold), ultimately peaking at #31 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Aside from the radio, and being in rotation on MTV, the song was featured in a bevy of places, including being used as the theme for the MTV show Tiara Girls, and being included on the Now 22 compilation.

What was even more important to Dodson, however, was the impact it had on young women. In an archived interview with The Star Scoop from 2006, she mentioned a girl messaged her on Myspace to let her know “Girl Next Door” made her rethink taking her own life, as she finally felt like she wasn’t alone.

Well before Saving Jane was playing a role in saving lives, the band’s founders, Dodson, and guitarist Pat Buzzard, were two Columbus, Ohio kids just past being teenagers, meeting each other for the first time at a gathering of local musicians around a bonfire in 2001.

The two found immediate musical chemistry, and decided to start working together. Their initial gigs were acoustic, and as a cover band, which they found was the best way to make a couple bucks, although they did enjoy sneaking in the occasional original tune they had penned.

As time passed they picked up members, and focused solely on their own material, releasing a nine-track EP titled Something to Hold Onto at the end of 2002.

In a blog post on Songtown.com, Dodson wrote that the band then worked their way into having a standing gig as a local Top 40 radio station’s house band, which led to getting a management deal, and after that a record deal.

The record deal was with indie label Toucan Cove, which released Saving Jane’s full-length debut album, Girl Next Door, in October of 2005. When the title track started receiving major radio airplay, Universal Records swooped in, signed the band, had them record a few new songs, and reissued the album in April of 2006 on Republic/Universal.

The follow up singles to “Girl Next Door” were “Happy,” and “Come Down to Me,” and while the latter saw a modicum of success, neither came anywhere near the popularity of the title track.

In August of 2007, Saving Jane released their sophomore album, One Girl Revolution, but it failed to make an impact.

The following year they released SuperGirl, the title track off of which became a sync licensing sensation, being featured in promotions for auto racer Danica Patrick, and celebrity chef Rachael Ray, as well as becoming the theme song for Olympic gold medal winning gymnast Nastia Liukin.

Weirdly, despite all the ways in which it was used, and how often we must have heard it, the bouncy pop song never made it past #85 on the Billboard Hot 100.

At the tail end of “SuperGirl” being used everywhere, the “cheerleader” lyric from “Girl Next Door” suddenly reappeared on Top 40 radio stations, this time in a pop song by Taylor Swift.

The song was Swift’s 2009 mega hit “You Belong With Me,” off of her 2008 album Fearless, and the lyrical similarity was obvious to anyone who remembered “Girl Next Door.”

While “Girl Next Door” had, “She is a cheerleader, I’m sitting in the stands,” “You Belong With Me” had, “She’s cheer captain, and I’m on the bleachers.”

The music videos had a number of similarities, as well.

Dodson opted to feel flattered rather than wronged, and in three separate tweets preserved by the Wordpress site Social Butterflies, wrote

To answer u guys-every day at least 1 person asks me abt “You Belong With Me” vs. “Girl Next Door,” esp the videos.

But I love TS, and always say I’d rather write with her than sue her. That’s where the real $ is!

If I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me why I haven’t sued Taylor Swift, I’d have enough to never have to sue Taylor Swift. 

Unfortunately for Saving Jane, they didn’t receive a boost from the similarities, and after their 2009 single “Butterflies,” and 2010 EP, Vampire Diaries, the end was near for the band.

Dodson, however, had been staying busy as a songwriter. In 2009 she teamed up with Lina Eriksson to write “Last Man Standing,” which was the theme song for the eighth installment of the German television show Popstars: Du & Ich. “Last Man Standing” would be recorded by all the finalists, and ultimately released by the season’s winners, Some & Any.

In October of 2010 Saving Jane released a single titled “Worst of Me” that was supposed to be part of an album titled Psycho Ex-Girlfriend, but the album was shelved, and the band called it a day.

Dodson, and two other members of the band, briefly carried on under the name Union Rose, but not much came of it. Her songwriting, however, became front and center, as Dodson penned everything from CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) songs with Blessid Union of Souls, and Brandy Allison, to Bluegrass songs with Dale Ann Bradley, and Kristy Cox.

Seeing herself becoming known for her songwriting skills, Dodson moved to Nashville in 2012, and it didn’t take long for her to start working with a bevy of country artists.

In 2014 she co-wrote “Quarterback,” which was released by Kira Isabella, and the cautionary tale to teen girls everywhere became a hit on the country charts in Isabella’s native Canada.

Interestingly, according to an article in Billboard, the song, which is about sexual assault, was originally going to be pitched to Carrie Underwood, but it never made it to her, as one of her people felt it wouldn’t be appropriate since Underwood once dated former Cowboys QB Tony Romo (probably the right call).

Two years later, the Dodson penned “You Look Like Rain” was released by country superstar Luke Bryan, and the list of artists the Saving Jane frontwoman has worked with in the country genre continues to grow each year.

In 2023 Dodson signed with the rights management and music publishing company Kobalt Music, and a year later she made her return to the spotlight, releasing a country song titled “Cowgirls on Broadway” that also featured Brittany Moore, and SJ McDonald.

Rewinding back to when Dodson was singing about a band uniform, rather than cowboy boots, I gave Saving Jane’s Girl Next Door a spin, and found three songs, other than the title track, that you should hear.

“Reasons Why”

For starters, I have to say that every song on Girl Next Door features fantastic songwriting, and vocals, so choosing just three of them was a bit of a challenge. Thankfully, that’s a good challenge.

“Reasons Why” is a song that stands out as being amazing in every possible respect, and I don’t understand why it wasn’t released as a single. I think it would’ve resonated with the pop crowd, as well as listeners who would normally gravitate to artists like Sheryl Crow. It’s simply a flat out great song.

“Imperfection”

Much like “Girl Next Door,” “Imperfection” has Dodson focusing on supposed flaws, but on this song she embraces those flaws wholeheartedly, essentially saying – I’m not perfect, and that’s absolutely fine, because I love who I am.

It’s a powerful message, and it would’ve been nice to see the influence the song might have had as a single.

“You might call me damaged goods, but I’m one of a kind” would’ve been a heck of a rallying cry.

“Autumn & Me”

Going back to the band’s acoustic roots, the stripped down “Autumn & Me” is Dodson and Buzzard proving why they could perform as a duo when they started out.

While my previous song choice was all about “Imperfection,” “Autumn & Me” sounds damned near perfect. I legitimately can’t get over how incredible it is.

Until next time, here’s to discovering more great music from one hit wonders! 

If you liked this article, check out the book – One Hit Wondering: The Stories of 40 One Hit Wonders + Other Tales From The Crates. Available now!