Everyday those with a passion for music try to put themselves out there in an attempt to get themselves noticed in the music industry. The difference is, only a handful of those individuals actually make it to the big time.
Everyone has to start somewhere.

25-year-old Kacey Musgraves began by singing publicly at her local church when she was only eight years old.
“Performers come up on stage and sing old country songs with a live band. I did that every weekend. It got me familiar with being in front of people and working with musicians,” said Musgraves.

Musgraves started playing guitar at age 12, and continued to play throughout her high school career until she wrote enough songs for her grandparents to help fund her first record. She moved to Austin, Texas and shortly after competed on Nashville Star on which she finished seventh. In 2008, Musgraves packed her bags and moved to Nashville to fully pursue songwriting.

To make money, Musgraves sang on the demos of other artists, not only to make a quick buck, but to try and get noticed by publishing companies. Shortly after, she got a publishing deal with Warner/Chappel. Musgraves was then approached with many label interests, but when she had a couple of sessions with them it did not feel right.

“What we did sounded like them, not me,” said Musgraves. “It just wasn’t the right time yet. If you only get one shot to say something, it better be exactly what you want to say from the beginning, you know?”

Later in the winter, Musgraves and a couple of her favorite co-writers went on a writing retreat to Strawn, Texas where a series of wildfires had recently hit. Here, Musgrave’s first hit “Merry Go Round” as well as many other songs were written, just within a few hours given the circumstances of their surroundings.

When the retreat was over, Musgraves headed back to Nashville with the job of looking through all the songs she had wrote back in Texas to put on an album that would be released shortly after.

Musgraves’s album was a success and she spent her summer of 2012 touring. Musgraves then headed to Europe with Lady Antebellum. In September, Musgraves returned to release “Merry Go Round” as a hit. Rolling Stone magazine placed the song as one of the top twenty singles of the year and named her their 2012 Best New Artist.

In the summer of 2013, Musgraves went on tour to promote her album Same Trailer Different Park, as a special guest on Little Big Town’s The Tornado Tour, and then as an opener on Kenny Chesney’s No Shoes Nation.

Kacey Musgraves is a prime example of someone who worked hard and followed her dream and in the end, she made it to the top.