\n\tCyndi Thomson experienced a series of firsts in 2001 thanks to \u201cWhat I Really Meant to Say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThat May, the Tifton, Ga., native heard herself on the radio for the first time; in July, she released her first album, My World; in August, she sang \u201cMeant\u201d in her Grand Ole Opry debut; and in September, she took the single to No. 1 on Billboard\u2019s Hot Country Songs<\/a> chart, dated Sept. 22.<\/p>\n \n\tIt all emanated from an awkward encounter that Thomson had with an ex at a party just a few weeks after a breakup. She smiled but never spoke to the guy, but when she turned that event into a song, she imagined having a conversation with him. Even in that scenario, she kept her feelings to herself, setting up the song\u2019s premise. Thomson penned it with Chris Waters (Terri Clark\u2019s \u201cBetter Things to Do,\u201d Holly Dunn\u2019s \u201cYou Really Had Me Going\u201d) and Tommy Lee James (Kenny Chesney\u2019s \u201cAll the Pretty Girls,\u201d Tim McGraw\u2019s \u201cShe\u2019s My Kind of Rain\u201d), who coproduced it with Paul Worley (The Chicks, Lady A).<\/p>\n \n\tThomson shocked many in the music industry a year later when she walked away from her Capitol recording contract after just one album, explaining that she was unable to commit to the volume of work expected of a new artist. She flirted with recording again a few years later, but never issued new music until this year. Thus far, she\u2019s released two new songs and joined Vince Gill as a vocal partner and cowriter on \u201cEighteen Summers,\u201d the title track to his EP released in August.<\/p>\n \t<\/p>\n \t<\/a><\/p>\n Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox<\/p>\n