The country newcomer simply known as Cam burst onto the scene this summer with her red-hot single, “Burning House.”

With the single perched at No. 23 on Billboard’s country airplay chart, Cam says she’s been astounded by the fans’ reaction to the ballad, especially when she hears the crowd singing the lyrics at her concerts.

“It’s kind of like, ‘How do you know this song?’” she said in an interview with CMT Hot 20 Countdown. “And on Instagram, I’ll go through and everyone tags me or hashtags ‘Burning House.’ They’re all talking about what it means in their lives or posting their own pictures and putting my lyrics next to it. … It’s awesome.”

While music has always played a significant role in the California native’s life, it wasn’t necessarily her first career choice. She originally studied psychology before making the move to Nashville to become a country singer.

“I remember asking my professor that I worked for,” she explained. “I said, ‘What should I do? I really love music, but also you know I’m doing OK on this track. I could keep doing this career. I really love this, too.’

“And she said, ‘Picture yourself -- 80 years old -- and you’re looking back on your life and what would you regret? And I said, ‘I’m gonna go do music, and thank you for saying that to me.’”

Before releasing her debut EP, Welcome to Cam Country, earlier this year Cam had already achieved songwriting success when one of her songs was recorded by Miley Cyrus for her Grammy-nominated Bangerz.

“That was crazy,” she said. “I didn’t expect that to happen. I was in the right place at the right time, I think.”

While Cam says these early successes have already brought some changes to her life, she’s determined to keep looking to what lies ahead.

“I have more notifications on Twitter. That’s probably the big difference,” she laughed.

Meanwhile, she’s thinking about elements she can add to her live show and looking forward to the release of her first full album.

“I think you’re so consumed by that,” she said. “And then, talking to fans, you don’t really think of yourself as any different. You’re just working really hard.”

For more on Cam, tune in to the new episode of CMT Hot 20 Countdown airing Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 29-30) at 9 a.m. ET/PT.