A native of Mandeville, Louisiana, Courtney Cole moved to Nashville at age 18 to attend Belmont University and put her musical dreams into motion.

Those dreams were fueled by strong women. Shania Twain, Deana Carter, Miranda Lambert, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey are just a few of the voices that had an impact on her.

Cole’s dad was a pharmaceutical representative, her mother was a stay-at-home mom, and her brothers were just trying to make a tomboy out of their sister. Music was a fixture in her house and singing grew to be a passion very early on.

A particular performance on her karaoke machine of the Dixie Chicks “You Were Mine” really moved a young Cole … and even brought her to tears.

“I didn’t even really know what the story was about, but it touched me so deeply and I just felt the emotion,” she said during an interview for CMT Next Women of Country Live. “I just want to make that came through in my music as I got older.”

After arriving in Nashville, she learned the ropes of the music industry by interning at a record label, working her way to the front desk and then becoming an executive assistant.

Today, she's the ambassador of CMT’s Empowering Education initiative and one of our CMT Next Women of Country artists.

Helping to shape the future of women in country music, Courtney Cole is proof that dreams do come true.

Enjoy her exclusive performance of "Fall Like Rain" on CMT Next Women of Country Live.