YOUR FAVORITE CMT SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+

HARDY "Was Very Frustrated" By His Long Road To Unlikely Stardom

The veteran singer songwriter discusses navigating Nashville and his "normal" presentation

It's believed that it takes a decade to succeed as a musician in Nashville. Amazingly, it's been well over a decade since newly-minted country star HARDY -- at the behest of his sister -- moved to the Music City to pursue a degree in commercial songwriting from Middle Tennessee State University. Concerning the difficult road to his unexpected success, the veteran singer-songwriter recently told broadcaster Bobby Bones, “I was so mad. I wasn’t bitter, and I didn’t blame the industry. I wasn’t that guy, but I was very frustrated."

His mainstream country songwriting break occurred in 2017 with Tyler Farr’s “I Should Go To Church Sometime,” followed by Florida Georgia Line and Morgan Wallen collaboration "Up Down." Fast forward into quarantine, and "One Beer" -- his duet with Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson -- was a number-one hit on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in 2020.

Regarding moving forward in his career, and if his "regular Joe" persona could open a door for others who similar to him are not typical of the male country star expectation, HARDY offers an honest take on modern times. He believes that Chris Stapleton and Luke Combs paved a road for his "normal" presentation being so intriguing to fans.

"It's cool to look normal again," he says. "Everyone used to try to look like a professional wrestler or something. Now -- if you're good -- the more normal you look, people are going to go nuts [for you]."

To listen to the rest of Bobby Bones' Bobbycast with HARDY, click here.

Latest News