Lauren Alaina’s new album, Road Less Traveled, was released on Friday (January 26th), and it was six years to the day that her American Idol audition in Nashville aired on FOX. The national talent competition was where it all began for Lauren, who made it all the way to the final show, coming in as a runner-up to Scotty McCreery on Season 10.

Lauren says the show started it all. “I said from the time I was six years old I was gonna be on American Idol. When that moment finally came and I was actually on that stage in front of those judges, I just remember thinking, ‘You cannot mess this up. Be yourself. Be yourself.’ When they gave me that ticket, girl, you would’ve thought I won the lottery, like a billion dollars. I mean, nothing in that moment could be more special to me, because that’s all I wanted for 10 years, and it finally happened, and it started everything for me,” says Lauren. “Here we are six years to the day that I was introduced to the world as Lauren Alaina and my sophomore album’s coming out. It means the world to me and I can’t even explain how much I’ve changed since then to now and how excited I am for everyone to hear it and see the growth.”

The Rossville, Georgia native just released her second album, Road Less Traveled, five years, three months and 16 days since her debut album, Wildflower, debuted.

She joins Martina McBride on the Love Unleashed Tour, which kicks off Thursday (February 2nd) in St. Louis, Missouri.