Country star Jo Dee Messina recalls heartbreaking rejection: ‘They called me too fat’

Country star Jo Dee Messina is gearing up for the release of her very first album in 12 years, and right before, she’s taken a trip down memory lane to recount what she faced back in the day.

The singer weighed in on her rejection, at the hands of a Nashville record label as well as their reasons, over on The Bobby Bones Show.

The 55-year-old’s admissions tugged at heartstrings and she was seen saying, “I remember I got turned down by a record label in Nashville. They said I was too fat. They told my producer that, 'Oh, if she was 10 pounds lighter, we'd have signed her.'”

This is the point where she recalls experiencing utter devastation that’s lasted well into today. So much so she even said, “It's 30 years later, I'm still talking about it. I didn't let it go.”

At that point family stepped in, she admitted to the host, that too in the form of her sister who she calls her “greatest support” because she encouraged her to “just keep going” because “they say you have to get passed on a thousand times before you get a deal.”

what is pertinent to mention regarding her album is that its set to release sometime in the summer of 2026 and is said to explore “faith, healing, and knowing when to let go” as its themes.