Jana Kramer Says Miranda Lambert Helped Her Not Give Up on Music

After the release of Jana Kramer's debut album, the singer went through a rough patch with her career. Despite the fact that her single 'Why Ya Wanna' saw some success, the album didn't do as well as she'd hoped. But none other than Miranda Lambert ended up being the person to encourage Kramer to keep pushing, using her own experience as an example.

"I was in a very discouraged time, and she was like, 'You know what, it didn’t happen for me until my second album,'" Kramer tells Country Weekly. "I was like, really? You’re Miranda Lambert. I just imagined it happened on the first album. So it really is about keeping on and not giving up."

As Kramer prepares to release her second album, which will include her current single 'Love,' she says her identity as an artist has become more clear.

"I think in the darkest times was when I finally figured it out," she says. "I was like, 'Why am I still trying to hide behind something?' All of a sudden this voice came out, and I was like, 'All right, I got it now,' and I went from a sh--ty performer to a confident performer.

"Hopefully you’ll hear there is a change because for me, this is my baby album, my second album, which is usually reversed. Because I didn’t really have the time to figure me out," Kramer adds. "It was all like, 'Holy crap, I got signed, and now I need an album like two months later.'"

A date has not been announced for the songstress' sophomore album, but in addition to 'Love,' the project will feature the song 'Bullet,' a duet with Steven Tyler of Aerosmith.

"I heard the song and went, 'Send me the track!'" Tyler says of the tune, which Kramer co-wrote with Aerosmith producer Marti Frederiksen. "So she sent me the files, and I went, 'Can I sing on that?' So I sang every part she had. It’s a really cool track."