Callista Clark is making fast progress on the country scene. The 17-year-old country singer, who still lives with her family in GA, recently released the five-song EP Real To Me on Nashville’s Big Machine Records.

Her deal with Big Machine came after she posted a cover video on her Facebook of CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen The Rain,” which has been viewed about 27 million times.

Overall, Clark has surpassed over 65 million views on Facebook and six million on YouTube. Not to mention her wildly popular covers she does on her IG!

“It’s Cause I Am” is her debut single off of her EP. She found inspiration for this track from..... a Nashville Starbucks!

I was in Nashville and in a Starbucks, on my way to a writing session. It was so hot outside that day that I had to bring my guitar in with me. It was brand new, so I didn’t wanna leave it in the car. So, I was lugging this big ole guitar [into Starbucks] with my drink in one hand and while trying to get out the door, and before I was about to leave, this guy saw me and was like, “Pfft, good luck.” Just like that. He saw that I was a young girl in Nashville with a guitar and was just like, “Whatever.” I turned around and said, “Thank you very much,” and then walked back out and wrote that song just to anybody who made me feel small or less than I was. It was my way of putting them back in their place a little and boosting my confidence. It was just a really fun way of letting out whatever emotions that came with that. Each song on this collection has its own personality in a way, and this is definitely the sassy, sarcastic side of me.

—  Callista Clark via Sounds Like Nashville

Take a listen to “It’s Cause I Am” as Callista Clark is our newest #UpNextMusic artist.

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