Chase Mitchell was 9 years old when the spotlight first shone on him.

After being discovered by famed producer Maurice Starr, the kid from Charleston, West Virginia, became the youngest member of boy band Lucky, which enjoyed some success in the late ’90s opening for bands. such as Destiny’s Child and Outkast.

But at the age of 13, the spotlight began to go out on Mitchell. And soon, he found himself craving a whole new vibe… in Nashville.

“I knew I wanted to do country music in a way,” Mitchell, 32, told PEOPLE in a recent interview. “I had so many pop influences growing up, but I also knew I had a deep love for country music.”

After spending a year trying to “just be a normal kid,” Mitchell, then a teenager, spent the next two-and-a-half years roaming Music Row with his “little briefcase,” knocking on doors and dropping demos around. the mail room. .

A fateful night after playing in a small Music Row storefront. Mitchell was approached by two label executives, who immediately wanted Mitchell to accompany them to meet Tony Conway, who over the years has represented the likes of Alabama, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks and The Chicks.

“I’ll never forget going to his office for the first time,” says Mitchell, who now lives in Nashville with his wife Jaqueline and their daughters: Brookline Rose, 9, and Lyric Amelia, 4. “Every square inch of its walls was covered in platinum records and awards. I was like, ‘Oh my God, Mom, we made it.’”

Soon Mitchell signed a deal with Conway and hit the road as a solo artist, opening for artists such as Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean and Rascal Flatts. But at the same time, Mitchell was also dealing with a host of personal issues that arose over the past decade of uninterrupted performance.

Thus, barely 19 years old, Mitchell took a professional step back.

“I had some dark moments after that,” admits Mitchell. “My mental health wasn’t good. I was feeling anxious and next time you know some doctors put you on antidepressants. Next thing you know those don’t work. I couldn’t stay focused , and I couldn’t sleep, and I just became a person I didn’t know anymore. I just wasn’t living my purpose.

And then, in 2018, Mitchell’s “pappy” died.

“The only thing he told me before he died was that he believed I was always destined to make music,” he recalls. “I couldn’t give up.”

And he didn’t. In late 2018, Mitchell reunited with former Conway and Aldean guitarist Danny Rader. And throughout the pandemic and with their help, Mitchell began to write and collaborate and find her purpose, eventually materializing into new music such as her new single “Back Road” from her upcoming debut album. Pursue your goal.

“‘Back Road’ is like a love letter to a small town, but it’s also about rekindling old relationships that may have broken down at some point,” says Mitchell of ‘Back Road’. whose music video airs exclusively on PEOPLE. “It’s about having a second chance and getting back to where it all started.”

It’s an idea he connects with now more than ever.

“I can now look back for once and see what all the lessons were preparing me for,” says Mitchell. “I’ve been doing this for so long, but somehow it feels like I’m doing it all for the first time. This season of life is my real chance to push, learn and appreciate everything. I feel like that kind of authentic brand of country music that I did and tried to do is now widely accepted. I’m just doing what I know comes naturally now.