Country singer\u00a0Jo Dee Messina is sharing the harsh criticisms she faced early on in her career.<\/p>\n
During a recent interview on \u201cThe Bobby Bones Show<\/a>,\u201d the 55-year-old \u201cBye Bye\u201d singer admitted that she had been turned down by a record label when first starting out because of her weight.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember I got turned down by a record label in Nashville. They said I was too fat,\u201d she said. \u201cThey told my producer that, \u2018Oh, if she was 10 pounds lighter, we\u2019d have signed her.’\u201d<\/p>\n She said she was \u201cdevastated\u201d after hearing that, and when asked later whether she was able to let go of the critique after making it big in the\u00a0music industry<\/a>, Messina said that she hadn\u2019t, noting, \u201cIt\u2019s 30 years later, I\u2019m still talking about it. I didn\u2019t let it go.\u201d<\/p>\n While Messina recalled feeling discouraged, she said her sister, who she called her \u201cgreatest support,\u201d encouraged her to \u201cjust keep going,\u201d telling her, \u201cThey say you have to get passed on a thousand times before you get a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n Messina went on to break through in the music world in 1996 with her debut self-titled album, which featured one of the biggest hits of her career, \u201cHeads Carolina, Tails California.\u201d Her success continued with her second album, \u201cI\u2019m Alright,\u201d which went double platinum.<\/p>\n Jo Dee Messina performs at the 2024 Country Summer Music Festival in Santa Rosa, California. Getty Images<\/p>\n The singer is set to release her first studio album in 12 years, \u201cBridges,\u201d in the summer, releasing the album\u2019s first single, \u201cSome Bridges,\u201d on Friday. She celebrated the song\u2019s release on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and her fans could not help but share in her excitement.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m about to be playing this song nonstop because it\u2019s so gooooooood\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25,\u201d one fan wrote in the comments section. Another added, \u201cOhh how I\u2019ve missed your voice! The song is \ud83d\udd25.\u201d<\/p>\n Her last studio album, \u201cMe,\u201d was released in 2014 and featured songs such as \u201cPeace Sign\u201d and \u201cA Woman\u2019s Rant.\u201d<\/p>\n Messina onstage at the Ryman Auditorium on March 3, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. Getty Images<\/p>\n Messina performing during a fundraiser for Rep. Tom Cotton of Arkansas in 2014. AP<\/p>\n Messina later announced in September 2017 that she had been diagnosed with\u00a0cancer<\/a>\u00a0in an open letter posted to her Facebook account, signed by Team JDM rather than the artist herself.<\/p>\n \u201cAs many of you know, Jo Dee is a believer who feels blessed to be surrounded by the love of God \u2014 a love that has brought her the inner peace,\u201d\u00a0the letter<\/a>\u00a0read. \u201cOn her lowest of low days, she has been able to see God\u2019s hand at work and feel His love as she continues her walk.\u201d<\/p>\n The post continued, \u201cIt is because of our Father\u2019s love that she has been able to find the beauty in the days that could have brought her the most fear, gratitude in moments that most would call unfair, and companionship during times she might feel the loneliest.\u201d<\/p>\n Messina at the 2023 Tidal Wave Fest in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Getty Images<\/p>\n After undergoing treatment that fall, Messina announced she was in remission and was back to performing by March 2018.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m to the point where it\u2019s once a year I go in and get checked with the blood work and scans if needed or whatever,\u201d she said on \u201cThe Bobby Bones Show.\u201d<\/p>\n Messina is currently on tour throughout America promoting her upcoming album, telling Bones and his co-host that her shows are \u201cvery active.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t stand still. There\u2019s two songs where I play a guitar on, and that\u2019s about the stillest I get,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then, other than that, I\u2019m running around. I\u2019m head-banging \u2026 You\u2019ll see a lot of pictures, my hair flying. It\u2019s not a beauty show by any means.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t