With the breakout success of his first-ever No. 1 hit, "Prayed for You," rising artist Matt Stell seems poised to become a star. He co-wrote the chart-topping track with Allison Veltz and Ash Bowers (who's also Stell's manager), and Stell says that each of the three writers could relate to its subject matter of gratitude and love from a different perspective. However, Veltz had a particularly timely connection to the love ballad.

"She had just met what turned out to be her husband maybe a week before, so she was riding pretty high from that," Stell recalled to The Boot in April of 2019. "So that was our point of departure, and then Ash and I tried to inject our own experiences into the song. We came out with a guy that's a lot like me, who's way luckier than he deserves in most aspects of his life."

Stell shows his versatility with his follow-up single, "Everywhere But On," a breakup tune that hit radio in December of 2019. That year, he also introduced himself to fans with a 7-track EP of the same name, all the while continuing to perform and grow his fanbase.

Though Stell's rise in country music may seem rapid, he actually took a winding, surprising road to get to where he is today. Read on to learn more about his journey, and discover everything else you need to know about the up-and-coming country star.

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