Morgan Wallen‘s first taste of fame came when he competed on The Voice, even though he didn’t even win. The Tennessee native appeared in the sixth season of the popular reality TV talent show in 2014, making it to the playoffs before he was eliminated. Although Wallen wanted to be a singer, after his original dream of being a professional baseball player was no longer possible due to an injury, it was actually his mother who signed Wallen up to compete.

“My mom actually signed me up for The Voice, the TV show, and I went on there,” Wallen recalls on Drury Outdoors. “I didn’t even know what it was. I never even heard of it, and I was like, ‘Yeah I guess I’ll go. If you drive me to St. Louis, I’m actually willing to try it out.’ I made it on there, made like Top 20, but I didn’t really know what kind of… I wanted to sing country music but they wanted me to sing pop music, so I was just like, ‘I guess these people are really smart people, I guess I’ll try it.'”

Wallen made it through a few rounds singing pop songs, before finally convincing them to let him pick a song. Although the end result didn’t include advancing on The Voice, it did help launch his now superstar career.

“I sang some pop songs, and then they finally let me pick a song.  I picked a country song and they kicked me off,” Wallen recalls with a chuckle. “It was the best thing to ever happen though. But I just met some people through that and ended up moving to Nashville in 2015. I’ve been there since 2015. It’s been good to me.”

Wallen has come a long way from his humble beginnings. Although he showed an early propensity for music, it wasn’t until he realized that being a professional athlete wasn’t an option that he leaned into his second love, which was music.

“My mom threw me on stage when I was three years old at church,” Wallen shares. “When I was five I asked for a violin for Christmas, which was probably more fiddle because I was at church. Being [from the] Appalachian Mountains, I like to listen to bluegrass and stuff a lot. So I learned how to play that but I learned how to classically play violin, and not fiddle. I quit after two or three years because I didn’t think it was cool no more. All I was doing was playing baseball, so I didn’t think it was cool at all at the time…but I played piano, so I learned how to play piano when I was seven. I learned how to classically play piano. I only did that for like two or three years too.”

Wallen was almost an adult before he realized that he could also write songs, songs that other people wanted to listen to.

“I wouldn’t ever write songs really,” says the singer. “Sometimes I’d write poems and just random stuff, but I didn’t start writing probably until I was 18 or 19. And I remember I got hurt in baseball and I didn’t get to go to college to play, so I started writing songs, trying to get my feelings out I guess,”

Wallen just announced his One Night At A Time World Tour, kicking off on April 15. He just released his One Thing At A Time sampler, which includes “Tennessee Fan,” “Days That End In Why” and the project’s title track. Find music and tour dates at MorganWallen.com.