Hunter Hayes’ ‘Invisible’ Was Inspired By Real Life

Hunter Hayes' debut single, 'Invisible,' from his upcoming album, 'Storyline,' is already earning the singer plenty of attention.

The Louisiana native penned the song, with powerful lines like "Trust the one / Who's been where you are wishing all it was / Was sticks and stones / Those words cut deep but they don't mean you're all alone / And you're not invisible," leaving listeners wondering if Hayes had actually been bullied in school. The 22-year-old admits the song really was inspired by real-life events.

"[I was bullied] a little bit," he reveals (quote via CMT). "I'm careful to say that because even in my own experiences, I know that there were a lot of people that had it a lot worse than me. So I will not stand here and complain about it. But, yeah, I went through a lot of different feelings that come with being someone who doesn't fit in at all and will not fit in at all."

The multi-instrumentalist acknowledges he never felt like he belonged with his peers..

"I was music-obsessed -- all I thought about, all I wanted to do," he recalls. "I would sit in class and draw pictures of tour buses. I would design stage sets on the side of my notebook. And it's such a geeky thing to do, really, if you think about it. Or at least that's how I thought about it when I was in high school. Because nobody else was doing it, and I thought it was weird."

Hayes says he ultimately made peace with his differences from his classmates.

"It took me a while to realize that it’s OK to be proud of that," he maintains. "Because in that time and period of my life, if you didn’t fit in, what else was there? Fortunately for me I had incredible parents, I had an incredible support system, musicians around me, and that showed me that there was hope -- that there was maybe something else I could look forward to.”

Hayes is in the middle of his We're Not Invisible Tour, which will play in Colorado and Utah this week. See all of his upcoming shows here.

Pre-order 'Storyline' here.