Country singer Alana Springsteen revealed the unforgettable advice that Kenny Chesney gave her before she launched her career.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, the 22-year-old musician, who released her debut album "Twenty Something" last month, recalled that she had "gotten advice from so many of my heroes" but some words of wisdom from Chesney stood out.
"I'll never forget talking to him backstage at his show," Springsteen remembered. "One of the things he told me was like, 'Don't be in a rush. It's so easy to get ahead of yourself and kind of like want that instant gratification, that instant success.'"
She continued, "But he was like, ‘Build it like this. Start at this core group and one step at a time, take it to the next level and carry your fans with you. ’"
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"And that has stuck with me and I think that's the most meaningful way to build something," Springsteen added. "To really take your time and just not get too caught up in like that instant, like getting to the top. It's so easy to do that with the virality of everything. And you can be successful overnight. But for me, it's always about – it's about building it the right way and doing it with just meaning and intentionality."
WATCH: Country singer Alana Springsteen shares how Kenny Chesney and Luke Bryan's career advice has 'stuck with me'
Springsteen also opened up about life on the road with "another one of my heroes," Luke Bryan. The "goodbye looks good on you" singer, who opened for Bryan during his "Country On Tour" last summer, explained how the two previously shared a special connection.
"It was very full circle to get to tour with him because when I was 10 years old, I got to tour the Grand Ole Opry for the first time," she said. "It was before I ever moved to Nashville, and I was sitting on the pews on the stage. Luke was one of the people playing that night, and he played ‘Rain Is A Good Thing’ and just lit the place."
She continued, "It inspired me so much, and when I found out that I was getting to make my Grand Ole Opry debut, he was the one that FaceTimed me out of the blue. We had never talked before."
"I get this call, and it's Luke on the other end, and I'm like, ‘What are you doing? Like what? ’And he was like, "Alana, I wanted to be the one to tell you that you're making your debut on your birthday. And it just made it so much more meaningful," Springsteen recalled.
"And then getting to tour with him, like sitting side stage every day watching him play ‘Rain Is A Good Thing’ – I'm like, ‘What is life?’ It's just so many full circle moments."
On Oct. 18, 2022, Springsteen celebrated two major milestones as she made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry on her 22nd birthday and announced that she had signed a recording deal with Columbia Records NY and Sony Music Nashville.
During her interview with Fox News Digital, Springsteen recalled the career advice that Bryan gave her on his tour bus.
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"He was like, 'It's so easy to get in your head and focus on kind of the smallest minute details and kind of get in your own way and get caught up in like, 'Oh, man, I didn't sound my best tonight. I don't feel my best, I'm tired, all of this,'" Springsteen remembered.
"But he's like, 'The most important thing is just having fun, being grateful for where you're at and having fun. Being present. And that's all.' That's something that will stick with me forever. So I've gotten a lot of advice, and I'm just grateful for my heroes pouring back into me. It's amazing."
Bryan is well-known for his love of practical jokes, which Springsteen said she experienced first-hand while on tour.
"Man, I feel like it was a constant stream of pranks with him," she said. "He's the kind of guy that will always keep you on your toes."
"We just had the best time," she added. "And he is the most genuine person ever. Him and his entire squad just made us feel like family."
On Aug. 18, Springsteen debuted her first studio album "Twenty Something" and she will embark on a 15-date tour in support of the album in October.
The singer told Fox News Digital that the album's title track was inspired by a songwriting session during which she was asked about the one song that she could write to "sum up" where she was at in her life and what she "wanted to say to the world."
"The idea that kept spinning in my head was this idea. I had ‘Twenty Something’ and I had been sitting on it for several months," she recalled. "And I don't think I had the guts to write it until this day, but it was just the perfect group, and we all just started sharing our stories of being in your 20s."
She continued, "And I'm only two years into my 20s, but it's been a roller coaster. It's been like the highest highs, the lowest lows and everything in between. And after writing the song, it just felt like a weight was lifted off my chest, and it really framed what I had been writing for a few months and what I wanted to say over the course of the next year."
Springsteen explained that she decided to break the album into three parts that would represent different stages of her life in her 20s. The three installments, "Messing It Up," "Figuring It Out" and "Getting It Right," are each comprised of six songs that make up the complete 18-track album.
"It really allowed me to take people on this journey with me," Springsteen said. "Over the course of the past two years, I've really challenged myself to dig deep and really get to know me for the first time ever."
The Virginia Beach native shared that creating the album allowed her to process her heartbreak over past relationships and begin "taking ownership" of her mistakes.
"It takes two," Springsteen said. "I think I've realized that a lot of those relationships ended because I really didn't know what I was looking for and what I needed because I hadn't taken the time to fully get to know myself."
She continued, "So I started out doing that through the music and this album really has made me the person that you see here today."
"Getting to know my self-defense mechanisms, places where I don't trust my gut and don't always listen to my heart," Springsteen added. "Areas that I have changed myself to be what somebody else needs. All of it. And this record gets into everything."
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"When you start out, and you write a song like ‘Twenty Something’ and you go, 'OK, we're going to take on what it is to be in your 20s.' I think it challenged me to get really deep and more vulnerable than I ever have, and I'm just so grateful to have these songs out because I think I'll be able to look back years from now and go, ‘Yeah, that marks the moment.’ It's like my diary."
Country superstar Chris Stapleton is featured on Springsteen's song "ghost in my guitar," which was included in the second part of her album "Figuring It Out." In her interview with Fox News Digital, Springsteen explained why she wanted Stapleton to contribute his guitar-playing skills to the song rather than his much sought-after vocal talents.
"We wrote this song called ‘ghost in my guitar’ and rooted it around this guitar lick," she said. "And instead of it being like a traditional duet between me and another vocal, we approached it as a duet between me and this guitar that's representing the ghost of my ex. Like these nagging feelings that just won't go away. So immediately, it got my wheel spinning. I was like, ‘Somebody so specific has to play this guitar because I wanted it to embody all of that personality, all of that feeling.’"
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During Bryan’s Crash My Playa festival in January, Springsteen performed on the same night that Stapleton was headlining. As she was watching him live for the first time, the singer remembered her head "snapped up" when he began playing the guitar.
"I was like, 'Oh my God, That's the exact tone that I've been picturing for the song. How do we get this song to Chris?' Like, there was no Plan B in my mind. I was like, ‘Long shot, but we got to shoot it,’" Springsteen remembered.
WATCH: Alana Springsteen talks ‘dream’ collaboration with Chris Stapleton on ‘ghost in the guitar’ from her new album ‘Twenty Something’
She continued, "One morning, my phone was blowing up. My entire team was calling me, and they were like, 'Alana, Chris just got back to us. He's going into the studio today to cut guitars on this song. He loves it and wants to be a part of it.'"
Springsteen said the eight-time Grammy Award winner called her to ask how he should approach playing guitar for the song.
"I just told him to approach it the same way he would a vocal. And he really frickin' brought it to life," she said.
"I'm just so grateful for people like him that have taken a chance on me," Springsteen added. "I'm still an up-and-coming artist and everybody is coming to Chris to do collabs and features. But the fact that he just believed in me and believed in the song enough to be a part of it means everything."
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The last installment of Springsteen's album includes a song titled "taylor did," which she said was inspired by Taylor Swift. Springsteen told Fox News Digital that Swift had influenced her "in every way you could possibly be influenced."
WATCH: Country singer Alana Springsteen talks inspiration behind debut album ‘Twenty Something’
"I grew up on those songs," she explained. "When I was 9 years old, I started writing for the first time, and I don't know that I would have had the confidence to do that if it wasn't for those role models like Taylor that I was looking up to."
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Springsteen continued, "And she was writing at such a young age. She got her first publishing deal the same age that I got my first publishing deal, at 14. So to have somebody to look up to and be like, 'OK, like she's doing it, I can do this too.'"
"She was my first concert when I was 9 years old. I went to the ‘Speak Now’ tour and just sitting in the audience, watching the way that she captivated every single person in that room, me included. I was like, ‘I have to be a part of this. Like, this is what I was meant to do.’"
During her interview with Fox News Digital, the singer reflected on sharing the same surname as music icon Bruce Springsteen and frequently being asked if they are related.
"It's constant," Springsteen said. "Obviously because it's such an iconic last name and there's no relation, but I've always been inspired by him and his music."
"There's one of his songs that's been my favorite forever called 'I'm On Fire,' and I just did a little cover of it for Sirius XM," she added. "When I went into the office, I'd stripped it down, like did an acoustic version, so I will always be inspired by his music. But I never want it to seem like I'm taking that name and using it."
"I'm making a name for myself."
