Thomas Rhett Offers Encouraging Words for Aspiring Artists: ‘Just Keep on Trucking’

As the son of Rhett Akins, Thomas Rhett grew up surrounded by music -- but Rhett still had to pay his dues, perform in small clubs and other venues and try to get noticed on his own merit.

Lucky for Rhett, his hard work paid off: The singer's debut album, It Goes Like This, spawned three No. 1 hits, marking the first time in 20 years that a solo male country artist achieved such a feat. He has also landed spots on some of country music's biggest tours, serving as the opening act for both Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan this year after previously hitting the road with Jason Aldean and Chris Young and headlining several of his own shows as well.

Now that the 25-year-old has seemingly earned a permanent spot among country's hitmakers, Rhett says that he hopes to encourage aspiring artists.

"I would just say definitely not to get discouraged, because there are more 'no's in this business. Or you get a lot of ‘Looks good, but it probably needs to be better,'" he told The Boot and other reporters at his recent No. 1 party for "Make Me Wanna." "Just continue to know that you are a talented songwriter, and you are a talented singer, and just keep on trucking until one day it hopefully happens for you. Somebody hears your song, or somebody sees you play live … that’s kind of how it happened for me."

While the "Crash and Burn" singer was determined to forge his own path, he did heed some important advice from his famous father.

"One of the biggest pieces of advice Dad ever gave me was trying to teach me patience," Rhett explains. "Once you have a big hit, you’re immediately on to the next thing, and that’s how we think. So Dad’s always taught me to slow down and appreciate [the] moments of things.

"And always try to give it your best, too, because you look back and think of bars you used to play, and 25 people would show up, and now you can go and sell out clubs or small little places. Whether you’re playing for 25 people or 25,000 people, always get out there and play a better show than you did last time."

A complete list of Rhett's upcoming tour dates is available on his website.

See Childhood Photos of Thomas Rhett + Other Country Stars!