Devin Dawson Reveals How Taylor Swift Pushed Him To Pursue A Singing Career: It Was The ‘Craziest Day’

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Four years after he got Taylor Swift’s approval on a cover of her song, Devin Dawson has his own career in country music, and he dished to us EXCLUSIVELY about how Taylor’s support got him here!

It’s not every day that Devin Dawson covers another artist’s song, but when he put his own spin on Taylor Swift’s “Style” and “Blank Space” in 2014 with a friend, it led to something he could’ve never imagined — a tweet from Taylor herself! The superstar singer shared the video on her social media page and admitted that she was “obsessed” with it, and four years later, Devin admits that this validation sparked something major in him that has really changed the track of his career.

“It was just insane. I was a junior in college at that point, just trying to figure out what I wanted to do,” Devin told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY at the CMT Awards, where he performed a snippet of his hit “All On Me,” earlier this month. “It was one of the craziest days, still to this day, that’s ever happened to me. She was a huge catalyst into me thinking…okay, maybe I can be an artist, rather than just write songs for other people and got me thinking…what do I want to do now? So I’m very grateful for what she did.”

Now, Devin has found success as a solo country artist thanks to his first single, “All On Me,” which reached No. 6 on the Billboard country charts and No. 2 on the Country Airplay chart. He recently released the second single, “Asking For A Friend,” from his debut album, Dark Horse (Jan. 2018). “It’s the story of a guy trying to apologize and get his girl back for whatever he did wrong, but it doesn’t say if he does get her back,” Devin explained. “It’s that classic country archetype where you can put your own story on it. It’s the most quintessential country lyric that I have on my album, so I’m excited for it to be a single.”

This summer, Devin will be playing shows around the country, including a handful of dates opening for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. “I actually did a handful of shows with them last summer, so I must’ve done something right because they asked me out again this year!” Devin raved. “Just another chance to work a stage like that and learn from them and watch them work a stage like that is a huge opportunity.” He’s got that right!