Nashville pop artist Thomas Day has lived multiple versions of an artist’s dream.

After breaking through as a teenage heartthrob on America’s Got Talent, Thomas signed to a major label and was quickly positioned for pop perfection. But it wasn’t until he stepped away from polish and leaned into raw, imperfect recordings that his music truly connected; culminating in the breakout success of “She Got a Thing About Her.”

In this episode of Listen Up with Ash McGregor, Thomas reflects on the pressure of early success, and why embracing imperfection changed everything. He plays unfiltered audio recordings live in the studio, and takes us through the just-do-don't-think style of music creation he lives by.

This is a conversation about how unlearning expectations, trusting instinct, and discovering that authenticity is what makes music last.

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This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body.