Dasha on how viral hit 'Austin' changed her life, advice she received from Jelly Roll
You've probably heard rising music star Dasha's viral hit "Austin" all over TikTok -- and the singer would be the first to admit that the song has changed her life.
After taking the stage at CMA Fest 2024 over the weekend, Dasha spoke with "Good Morning America" about the incredible success of "Austin (Boots Stop Workin')" and shared what it was like performing at her first stadium show.
"I could see everybody up there," she said about taking the stage at the festival. "And I'm like, 'Wow ... this is insane.' And I just had fun with it -- it's all you can do. I had such a good time."
Dasha released "Austin" in November and, in the months since, it has spawned a trend of social media users line-dancing to it on TikTok. Despite its upbeat melody, the singer said it came from a sad moment in her life.
"I wrote the song and I was really going through it," she said. "I was really heartbroken when I wrote this song."
In May, she released a stripped down version of "Austin" to reflect the emotion at the song's core. "The more I sing it and the more I do it in a different light other than just with the whole band, I'm like, 'Wow, this is actually a really sad song,'" she said. "It's kind of cool shedding that type of light on such an upbeat, boot-clapping song. It came from a really real place in my heart, and that's what I wanted to show with the stripped version."
Since then, she said the song has changed her life -- not just from its impact online but with fans themselves.
"Everything has just been so different," she said. "I mean, [I'm] running into fans all the time, and people [are] saying how the song has helped them through a breakup."
"This girl the other day was like, 'I broke up with my toxic boyfriend -- like my literal abusive boyfriend -- because of the song. You inspired me to have the courage to do it,'" she recalled. "That's why I do this s---. That just makes me so happy."
Dasha released her sophomore album, "What Happens Now?", earlier this year. The album includes "Austin," "King of California," "42" and more. She will be making her Grand Ole Opry debut on Saturday.
"It's the Opry -- like what the hell?! It's crazy," she said. "There's so much history and culture and stepping into that circle -- I've dreamed about this for a really long time, and it's gonna feel really good to step into country and be like, OK we're here. Here we go. And I'm actually gonna be playing the stripped version of 'Austin' there."
Amid everything happening in her life, Dasha said the best advice she's received has come from fellow country singer Jelly Roll, whom she said she ran into backstage at CMA Fest.
"He was saying how the best thing you can do with all this craziness going on is just soak it in," she said. "Like, 'You got this, you're good. You're meant to be here, but just soak it in.'"
"And I needed to hear that so bad," she added. "I was like, 'Damn, that's so right,' because I was up there on that stage and just like looking around and like, damn, I'm really here playing a stadium right now. That's just insane."
Tune into this year's CMA Fest special, hosted by Ashley McBryde and Jelly Roll, when it airs Tuesday, June 28, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.
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