Troy Cartwright is ready to make his impact at country radio, and what an impact it is. The singer-songwriter, who has released several tracks on his own already, just released his debut single to radio, “Hung Up on You,” on Warner Music Nashville, ready to share both his voice and his songwriting with the world.

“It was just about some girl that I still think about sometimes,” Troy told Everything Nash of the song, which he wrote with Solomon Olds and Rebecca Lauren Olds. “That was pretty much how the idea got started. We finished the song in a few hours. And then, when it came out about a year ago, it just kind of took off, and it’s been really fun to see. I always thought it was a special song. It opened up a few doors for me, before it came out, sending it around town to different people and stuff like that. It’s  always nice when a song has some legs, and I’m excited for it to be my my first.”

“Hung Up on You” might have been written about someone he used to date, but he says the song can apply to anyone.

“I think all of us have people in our past that we think about sometimes, and wonder what they’re up to now,” Troy shared. “I think for me, one of the emotions going into this song was, ‘I wonder if this person that has kind of left this mark on me after all this time, I wonder if they think about me ever. I think it’s a very human emotion, to wonder. I think about the kid who was mean to me in sixth grade. I still think about if I ever crossed his mind, even one time.”

Troy already had plenty of success in music before “Hung Up on You,” releasing songs on his own, and writing songs for others, including the Josh Abbott Band. After attending the prestigious Berklee College of Music, he returned to Texas, before ultimately realizing his biggest opportunities were likely in Music City.

“There were a couple of different things going on, but I think the thing that always has driven me is, if you can think of a music career like a horse drawn carriage,” reflected the singer. “Maybe you have three horses, but the lead horse has always been songwriting for me. I just loved writing songs. It’s what makes me want to get out of bed in the morning. It lights me up.

“And part of that is that I love performing the songs that I write,” he continued. “I think once I started having some success in Texas, I was getting some calls to come write in Nashville. After a few trips, I just basically looked in the mirror and was like, ‘I think if I want to be the best artist I can be, and the best songwriter I can be, I’ll move to Nashville.'”

Troy may be from Dallas, but he definitely feels most at home in Nashville.

“When I came to Nashville, the community here, specifically the songwriting community, I felt like I had found like people,” said the rising star. “It was like a band of misfits, and that’s been really special to me to have that community. Getting to write with your friends and having support from your friends who really know what it’s like is I would say is one of the differences between Nashville and Texas.”

“It’s just cool to get to be in Nashville,” he added. “Everybody’s typically going to the same three or four bars to hang out. When I moved to town, that’s just, that’s how I met people. I was going out, and that just feels so special to Nashville and unique. And I don’t know that that exists anywhere else.”

Download “Hung Up on You” at TroyCartwright.com.