Exclusive: Cassadee Pope Says 'The Voice' Was 'The Hardest Thing' She Ever Experienced

Cassadee Pope went from being a songwriter and the lead singer of the pop punk band, Hey Monday, to winning Season 3 of The Voice, singing a mix of country and pop songs. Pope, who won in 2012, admits she was initially reluctant to even appear on The Voice, largely because of her own personal assumptions about the show.

"I used to think of it as taking the easy way, and then when I did it, I was like, 'Oh, this is the hardest thing I've ever experienced in my life,'" Pope admits to PopCulture.com. "I worked with a bunch of boys in stinky vans, so I went through some tough times, and that was the toughest."

The Florida native acknowledges the show pushed her way outside of her comfort zone, teaching her valuable lessons that she still uses today in the process.

"It was scary, because I'm not innately competitive," Pope admits. "I've always kept my head down, just gone forward. So being on a competitive show was weird. But I realized, 'Oh, I get being competitive can be beneficial.' But I also think just doing you and being authentic and beating yourself every week is much, much more beneficial than looking around and like, 'Oh, what are they doing? What are they doing?'

"So, it was a learning experience," continues Pope. "I feel like I grew a lot as a vocalist as well, just singing every week. It's a kind of like singing boot camp where you're singing constantly. I felt like my voice got stronger. I, of course, got an incredible fan base out of it that has stuck with me through the years. It was really fun to see Hey Monday fans and The Voice fans work together in harmony to help me out, and go to my shows, and buy my music. So it was an incredible experience, and I loved getting to do that."

The Voice stretched Pope, not only as a performer, but also as a person. At the point of giving up her music career, she auditioned for the show, not realizing how challenging the entire process would be for her.

"It was literally the last option I felt like I had," concedes the singer. "Before I did the show, I was like, 'I've done everything else. I've done the solo thing. I've done touring in a band. I've done all of it, and I guess I just need to do this.' And it ended up being one of the hardest things career-wise that I've ever done."

Pope quickly realized that being on The Voice wasn't just about singing, but about how being an artist, especially one whose career is launched on TV, really affects every part of your life.

"There's just a lot of things to think about on that show, from how you look, to how you sound, to how you're speaking in your interviews," shares Pope. "You're constantly hooked up to a mic. You've got to be careful with that. It's just a lot of moving parts. But it gave me my career. I've always said, 'I know I'm going to end up doing music for a living, I just don't know how I'm going to get there, and I'm never going to be able to predict it.'"

Pope is hard at work on a new album, which will include the record's debut single, "Take Me Home."

The Voice airs on Monday and Tuesday nights at 8:00 PM ET on NBC.

Photo Credit: Instagram/CassadeePope