RaeLynn Grateful for Friendship With Blake Shelton Following ‘The Voice’

RaeLynn first rose to fame as a contestant on Season 2 of The Voice in 2012. Although RaeLynn made it all the way to the quarterfinals of the reality TV talent show on Blake Shelton‘s team, Jermaine Paul was declared the winner.

Still, the singer-songwriter says she still came out victorious on The Voice, thanks in part to her ongoing friendship with Shelton.

“The Voice brought, of course, a lot of fans to just knowing me, and following me, but The Voice really showed me what it was like to work with a band, and to do interviews, and all of that,” RaeLynn told PopCulture.com. “To be mentored by Blake, who is one of the coolest people ever; he’s helped me so much with just really figuring out just my footing here in Nashville. I remember there were certain situations when I first moved here when I didn’t know what to do, and he’d always be my first call of like, ‘Hey, how would you handle this?’”

“I mean, he lived here for ten years before anything really started happening,” she continued, “so I think he was the right person to ask because of all that experience.”

RaeLynn moved to Music City as an 18-year-old, undaunted by the challenges she would face as a young woman trying to make her mark. Now, with four Top 40 singles to her credit, and her second album in the works, RaeLynn has wise words for other aspiring female artists who hope to follow in her footsteps.

“I would say, it’s going to take a little longer for you than probably the guy next to you, but with every great thing that takes more time, it’s always a little sweeter,” RaeLynn acknowledged. “I wouldn’t change my path for anything. I’ve been here for seven years and I’ve learned so much in those seven years. I’ve talked to many new artists – it’s stick to what you believe in, stick to what makes you different, and really just get to know people for who they are and not for what you want.”

RaeLynn’s current single, “Tailgate,” is rapidly climbing the charts. The song, which she co-wrote with Tyler [Hubbard] from Florida Georgia Line, Corey Crowder, and Canaan Smith, is a nod to the red Ford pick-up truck RaeLynn drove when she moved to Nashville, and still drives today.

“I’ve been driving this same truck since I was 18 years old, right when I moved to Nashville,” RaeLynn said. “This is all that came with me and a couple boxes. It’s so funny because anybody who knows me, they’re like, ‘Oh Rae and that truck, like they know it’s me. And so, I was like, ‘I have to write a song about this truck.’”

Download “Tailgate” on iTunes.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Suzi Pratt