Ethan Payne had no idea when he attended a Luke Bryan concert in Dallas, Texas as a 13-year-old how much his entire life would change. Attending the concert, and getting to meet the superstar himself, was an opportunity given to Ethan through the Make-a-Wish Foundation, since Ethan has cystic fibrosis. But when Luke not only encouraged the young man to pursue music, but also called him on stage to sing a couple of songs with him, Ethan knew he had found his calling.

“He invited me on stage, back in the meet and greet and was like, ‘Your life is going to change forever,'” Ethan recalled to Everything Nash. “And it did start. It kind of opened my eyes to what I could be looking forward to in the next years.”

Ethan was so inspired by Luke that he wrote a song, called “Luke’s Guitar,” after the country music superstar gave him one of his own guitars.

“So my first song that I ever wrote in Nashville was ‘Luke’s Guitar,'” Ethan recounted. “I wanted to give a gift back, because Luke’s been through so much. I just wanted him to be proud of something, be proud of how that guitar, and what he did, made me feel. And I also wrote it so that other kids who have something of theirs that just makes them happy, it kind of relates to their everyday life. And the message of the song was to start something new, or do something that you’ve always dreamed of and actually complete it.”

Of course, Ethan made sure one of the first people to hear “Luke’s Guitar” was the person who inspired the song.

“He got to hear it a week before it was released,” Ethan recalled. “He FaceTimed me and just went on and on and on about how much he loved the song and how much it meant to him. It was a total surprise. His exact words were, ‘If I had known that song could come out of you, I’d have given you a hundred guitars.'”

Ethan got the chance to reconnect with his musical hero, when he appeared on Season 17 of American Idol. Although he was heartbreakingly eliminated by Luke, the rising star says he has no hard feelings about being let go.

“I was really sick and honestly, I really wasn’t cut out for the whole TV thing,” Ethan maintained. “I really enjoyed my time out there, and I made some really, really awesome friends that were out there as well. I got the good end of the deal. I got so many followers through social media. There were a lot of people that were really, really, really, really high up, like winning and we’re writing with the same people. So I really didn’t catch the bad end of the deal.

“I got let go early, and I got to start earlier than all of them,” he continued. “I got to start my actual career earlier. As soon as I got off the TV show, I had a manager, I had a publicist. Everybody just started coming together, while they were still filming for the show. So I kind of got the jumpstart and I got what I needed out of it. And I’ll forever be grateful.”

Ethan still keeps in touch with Luke, although he is determined to not use the famous singer to help him get his own career started.

“I want to make it on my own,” Ethan insisted. “He can pave a way for me, but I really want to experience what it’s going to feel like when times get hard and I’m living on my own and stuff. He could probably make it a hundred times easier, but that’s not what I want and that’s not what he wants. He wants to see me succeed through myself, succeed through writing, succeed through all of this other stuff instead of just paving a way for me.”

Ethan is working on an album, which will include “Luke’s Guitar.” While he doesn’t have a title or release date yet, he does know that the record will be very personal for hin.

“This upcoming album is literally a roller coaster of emotions,” Ethan revealed. “You’ve got happy songs that I love to write, but then you get the heart-wrenching, gut-wrenching songs that are about losing your dad, losing your grandpa. These songs make me happy. I wouldn’t be ashamed to put any of these songs out, for the world to hear.”

Download or stream “Luke’s Guitar” by visiting Ethan’s website.