\n<\/p>\n
\n\tFrom Taylor Swift to Tanya Tucker, country music has a rich history of child stars. Maddox Batson<\/a>, at just 16, is the latest, drawing comparisons to young Justin Bieber with his songs about middle-school crushes and country living. He and Bieber also share the same vocal coach he tells Rolling Stone<\/em>\u2019s Nashville Now<\/em> podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMama Jan. She\u2019s absolutely wonderful\u2026 She knows how to handle young male voices,\u201d Batson says. \u201cThrough puberty and how your voice will change and stuff, she has that mastered down.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBatson says he looks to Bieber and other pop artists who started young, like the Jonas Brothers, for inspiration, but he\u2019s also aware of country stars who launched when they were just kids, like LeAnn Rimes. \u201cYou try to take the best parts of everything that happened to them and try to incorporate it into my career,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \n\tBatson is having his moment in country music. He recently dropped the new single \u201cIf I See Her Again,\u201d opened a string of shows for Lainey Wilson, and is currently selling out concerts on his headlining solo tour. He landed a prime slot at CMA Fest<\/a> this June too with a set on the River Stage.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cLongevity is a big thing for me. That\u2019s the biggest goal for me as an artist: have the longest career I can, while staying the same person,\u201d he says, citing George Strait. \u201cI take a lot of inspo from him. He\u2019s been in it 45 years; longer than my dad has been alive. He\u2019s still putting out music. That\u2019s what I want. I don\u2019t want to be a drop in the pan.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tFellow Nashvillian Nate Bargatze apparently has taken notice. Batson will costar with the comedian and make his feature film debut in The Breadwinner<\/em>, a new comedy set for release May 29.<\/p>\n