Two down, 98 to go. Those were Jake Owen's witty words in reference to the announcement that he and girlfriend Erica Hartlein are expecting a baby girl.

The baby, due next year, will be Owen's second daughter (he is already father to 6-year-old daughter Pearl with ex-wife Lacey Buchanan). He shared the news in late November.

"I think I manifested this myself because after having Pearl, people asked me what it was like to have a little girl and I always said that if I could have 100 more I would," Owen said Tuesday (Dec. 4) at a media roundtable.

The event was hosted before Owen’s No. 1 party at the Country Music Association in Nashville for his single "I Was Jack (You Were Diane)."

"Letting it slip (via ABC's I'm Coming Home special) I guess was just out of excitement, because it's hard not to tell people about things you're excited about. And for me, at this point in my life, it's really exciting because it's a really concrete part of my life. Whether people believe it or not, this life and this world and this 16th avenue stuff does not last forever, but a little girl's love does. … Two down, 98 to go."

Owen also noted that daughter Pearl is "really excited" about being a big sister.

"She’ll be a great sister," Owen said. "I got a letter from her teacher the other day, which was great, about the kind of person she is to her classmates. She's a kind friend (the teacher) said and she's always willing to lend a helping hand. That makes me feel good as a father because I've always try to do that myself, but to know that that has worn off on her. … She’ll be a great sister because of that."

Owen's epic remake of 1982 classic "Jack & Diane" by John Mellencamp is his seventh career No. 1 and first No. 1 on his new Big Loud Records imprint.

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