Get to know Tara Thompson, a self-proclaimed "hillbilly from Tennessee" who recently inked a deal with Valory through Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Label Group. The lyric video for her new single, "Someone to Take Your Place," is available to watch below.

Thompson's currently got a slot on the national CMT Next Women of Country Tour, performing alongside Jennifer Nettles, Brandy Clark and Lindsay Ell and making it clear that she's officially graduated from her four-hour, honky-tonk shifts as a budding songwriter new to Nashville.

In a recent interview with HITS, she divulged how she used to look in the mirror, asking herself, "How does it feel to be a woman in country?" Now that her dreams are materializing, she's still in awe thinking, "Me? Have fans? For real? It's surreal!" Meanwhile, we just find it surreal that no one's advised her to dodge our calls yet.

Born and raised in a small town in the Great Smoky Mountains, the sassy songstress grew up listening to country classics from the likes of Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, and watching her cousin—Grammy-winning artist Loretta Lynn—thinking, "Man, I wanna do that! But in my own way."

After going to college at her family's request and then flunking out, Thompson packed her things and moved straight to Music City. In an effort to stay true to herself, she steers clear of boy-bashing and cliché love songs. Instead, she pulls inspiration from her own life, churning out extremely personal songs like "Pregnant at the Prom"—a tune about her mother—and "Vows"—a quirky track about her sister's redneck wedding. We'll raise a glass to that.