Karen Waldrup loved everything about being on The Voice. Waldrup, who auditioned by singing Jo Dee Messina‘s “Bye Bye,” was on Dan + Shay‘s team for Season 25 last year. Reba McEntire also turned around during Waldrup’s blind audition, but was blocked from choosing Waldrup by Dan + Shay.

Waldrup made it to the Top 5 before she was eliminated. Still, the Louisiana native loved every part of being on the popular TV show.

“The Voice was a whirlwind,” Waldrup tells Everything Nash. “It was amazing … It was such a great experience. I learned so much. And that’s the biggest thing; when you go do something like that, you’re walking into it completely clueless of what’s going to go on, or how things are going to go down, or what songs you’re going to sing, or what you’re going to wear. You have no idea. So it also taught me flexibility.

“I’ve already been flexible because we tour a lot, being on the highway, you’ve got to be flexible,” she continues. “But The Voice taught me to really be flexible, because you just had to roll with the punches. You got your schedule that morning. It was pretty wild. You had to roll with it. But it was a great experience, and it just expanded my already existing fanbase, and made it even bigger. It’s been really good.”

More than just being on the TV show, Waldrup learned plenty by spending time with Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney.

“They are the best,” Waldrup says of her former coaches. “They were so good to me. They gave me a ton of time, a ton of counsel, a ton of advice. And the biggest thing I learned from Shay from watching is his timing. His musical timing is impeccable. And I’m like, ‘Is he listening to a metronome the whole time? How is he so on the beat?’ It was just really impressive. And I didn’t really realize that until I sang with them. Before that, I was just listening to their stuff, and his voice. And then when I was singing with him, I kind of heard my vocal being a little looser. So now I get on stage, I pay more attention to my timing. And that’s such a small thing.”

Waldrup made it to the Top 5, which for many would have been a win. But the singer-songwriter admits that, while grateful for her time on The Voice, she hoped to walk away a winner, which instead went to Asher HaVon.

“I was disappointed,” Waldrup concedes. “I wanted to win, I’m not gonna lie. I went out to the show with a motto, and it was ‘No Option.’ Because I had already been out on the road. I had already toured. I had already played clubs. So I really didn’t have an option but to bring 100 percent. So I brought 100 percent to the workouts, to the rehearsals, to wardrobe, to everything. Every possible thing I could do, I brought 100 percent. And every morning, I listened to a song by Kevin Gates called ‘No Option.’ And it just brainwashed myself to convince myself that I wasn’t going to get distracted by somebody inviting me to the beach or going to Disney. I was there to get into the finale, and that was my goal.

“When we got out on the stage, and they said I was fifth, I was very disappointed … I was at least wanting third or second,” she adds. “But I was very excited and happy for Asher. His voice is out of this world, and he deserves every ounce of success.”

Waldrup has a new song out, “Blue Cowboy Boots,” which she wrote with hit songwriter Ed Hill.

“‘Blue Cowboy Boots’ is a really fun, light, feel-good kicking song. We wanted a summer kick-off song,” Waldrup explains. “We wanted a song that really fired people up, whether they’re out on the boat in the sunshine, or whether they’re having family over, or driving around in their Mustang. Blue boots represent freedom and being an individual and escaping the problem, because you’re not blue anymore, because you’re wearing the blue cowboy boots. So the blue cowboy boot is meant to represent having fun, and saying, ‘No. You’re not going to treat me like that. I’m gonna go dance in these boots and have a great time. That’s really all it is. People are like, ‘Okay, tell me about it.’ I’m like, ‘Well, it doesn’t take long. It’s a song about boots, and about having fun, and about being free and being expressive.'”

It was Waldrup’s own boots that became the inspiration for her feel-good new single.

“Me as a musician, I had a pair of blue cowboy boots,” Waldrup says. “I wore them all over. And I noticed that out of everything I owned, I got more compliments on the blue cowboy boots, of anything I’ve ever owned. So I’m like, there’s probably something special about these boots.”

“Blue Cowboy Boots” is part of what will eventually be a new album from Waldrup, her first since being on The Voice.

“We released ‘Louisiana Hurricane,’ then we released ‘Fix It,’ then we released ‘Blue Cowboy Boots,'” Waldrup says. “So once we do six or eight, then we will put it into a record. So we’re slowly releasing the record.”

Find “Blue Cowboy Boots” and all of Waldrup’s music and upcoming shows at KarenWaldrup.com.