Jo Dee Messina says that at the beginning of her country music career, she faced rejection at a Nashville record label over the way she looks.
She also remembers the great advice her older sister gave her after one label flat-out refused to sign her.
Why Did a Nashville Record Label Once Reject Jo Dee Messina?
During a recent conversation on The Bobby Bones Show, Messina says that a label once told her no because they thought she wasn’t thin enough to be a star.
“They said I was too fat,” Messina reveals.
“They told my producer that, ‘Oh, if she was 10 pounds lighter, we would have signed her,’ is what they said,” the singer elaborates. “…And I was devastated.”
But she got some important advice, from her older sister, who always encouraged Messina to keep pushing through the hard parts of the music business.
What Advice Did Jo Dee Messina Get From Her Older Sister?
Messina says her older sister, who is “like 15 years older than me,” was level-headed in her response to the rejection.
“I said, ‘I did this showcase and I didn’t get the record deal. They passed.’ And she’s like, ‘Yes!’ I was like, ‘What do you mean, yes?'” the singer recounts. “She’s like, ‘Oh, they say you have to get passed on a thousand times before you get a deal…Now you only have 999 left.'”
How Did Jo Dee Messina’s Career Take Off?
Messina didn’t say which of her two older sisters gave her that advice in her Bobby Bones Show interview. But in a 1996 interview with Country Standard Time, the singer gave her oldest sister Marianne a lot of credit for supporting her musical dreams early on. Messina even incorporated her siblings in an early family band.
Messina moved to Nashville in around 1990, six years before the release of her self-titled debut album in 1996.
It was that project that included her hit “Heads Carolina, Tails California,” giving the singer her first hit. Her career further picked up speed with the 1998 follow-up I’m Alright, which included chart-toppers such as “Bye Bye” and “I’m Alright.”
Read More: Jo Dee Messina Returns With First Album in Over 10 Years
Messina is releasing her first album in more than a decade in 2026. That project, called Bridges, is due out this summer.
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