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Country star Jo Dee Messina shared a shocking rejection she faced early on in her career.
During a recent interview on The Bobby Bones Show, the Bye Bye singer admitted that she had been turned down by a record label due to her weight.
"I remember I got turned down by a record label in Nashville. They said I was too fat," she said. "They told my producer that, 'Oh, if she was 10 pounds lighter, we'd have signed her.'"
Messina said she was "devastated" after hearing that, and when asked if she has overcome the severe critique, she noted, "It's 30 years later, I'm still talking about it. I didn't let it go."
While the Bring On the Rain singer recalled feeling discouraged, she said her sister, who she called her "greatest support", encouraged her to "just keep going", telling her, "They say you have to get passed on a thousand times before you get a deal."
Messina's breakthrough in the music industry came in 1996 with her debut self-titled album, which featured one of her biggest career hits, Heads Carolina, Tails California.
She became an unstoppable force with her second album titled I'm Alright, which went double platinum.
The singer is set to release her first studio album in 12 years, Bridges, in the summer, and the album's first single, Some Bridges, was dropped on Friday.
Her last studio album, Me, was released in 2014 and featured tracks, including Peace Sign and A Woman's Rant.
