"I fell in love with music at a very young age, I just didn't ever think that was a possible outcome for my life," Tucker Wetmore asserts. "I thought it was kind of like a fairy tale."
Born and raised in Kalama, a small town in Southern Washington, Wetmore listened to everything from reggae to heavy metal. Music became an outlet as he navigated his teenage years and strained family life, but dedicated his life to football — until a fateful injury made him rethink his future.
During a practice play in his freshman year at Montana Tech, he snapped his leg in three places. Though he was in the midst of a star season, as he recalls, "something deep in me knew that I was not on the right path." Wetmore, whose grandpa was a preacher, decided to ask God for some direction the night before his injury. "That was my sign."
While he may not be the first country singer who turned to music after sports — see chart-toppers Sam Hunt, Chase Rice, Brett Young — Wetmore's rapid rise hints that perhaps the pivot really was meant to be. In the past year alone, the singer/songwriter has inked a major label record deal with UMG Nashville (in partnership with Back Blocks Music), landed his first No.1 hit on country radio ("Wind Up Missin' You"), sold out his first headlining tour, and earned an Academy of Country Music nomination for New Male Artist of the Year. And on April 25, he added a debut album to his ever-growing list of accolades.
What Not To sees Wetmore divulge life learnings across 19 songs, whether he's recognizing his vices on racing opener "Whatcha Think Is Gonna Happen" or lamenting a one-way relationship on the cinematic "Give Her The World." The title track is easily the album's most personal, alluding to his estranged father, but each song has a self-awareness and vulnerability that makes his music as relatable as it is intriguing.
For Wetmore, What Not To serves as a necessary opportunity to shape his own narrative. "I feel like everything happened so fast, nobody really got the chance to get to know me as a person," he insists. "I think I'm ready to let people in, let people know who I am, and why I am the way I am."
The rising star sat down with GRAMMY.com to reflect on his swift success, how God and his mom played a role in it, and the ways he's already seen his music make an impact.
After your football-ending injury, how did you decide to pursue music?
I moved back home, and I was talking to my mom. I was like, "I'm lost. I don't know what I'm doing with my life." She's like, "Go sit in front of your piano or pick up your guitar. That was your therapy back in the day." It had probably been two years since I played anything.
That night, I wrote my first song, and instantly, I was like, "I'm not looking back. This is what I want to do." I started working towards it… and moved to Nashville in 2020.
I think [that first song] was a love song, but it was about a girl. It was a terrible song, but I loved it. And I didn't get that feeling from football. There's definitely highs with football, but nothing beats the feeling of walking up on stage or finishing a song or getting excited about an idea.
And what made country feel like your genre?
It just spoke to me in a way that other genres didn't. [What's] so beautiful about country music is that it's real life stuff.
I've listened to it my entire life, but I wasn't just brought up on country. But it's part of who I am, and I'm hick as it gets. I love being out in the woods with my buddies and doing redneck s—. That's what I do, and that's what I've always done.
Considering how fast things have happened to you, what do you think have been the keys to your success?
Honestly, I owe it all to God, first and foremost. Nothing is possible without Him. I trusted Him moving away from the football career, dropping out of college. That was just me listening. And since that moment, I was like, "I'm going to listen, no matter what He says."
Trusting your people, too. And trusting yourself enough to surround yourself with good people. Moving to Nashville is the biggest thing I could have done, starting to surround myself with the industry and people in it, and kind of learning — which, I still got a lot to learn, but just having faith in the unknown is probably the biggest thing.
A lot of my friends aren't even in the music industry, but I love that so much, because those are the people that are listening to the music. I was very fortunate to meet a very solid group of friends. They've helped me move into the person I am today. I trust them with my life. I trust them with my music.
Have you had any other "God moments" — like when you broke your leg, where you asked for something, and then all of a sudden there was a sign?
Definitely some business decisions, even down to what songs went on this record. Some relationships that I've had in the past couple years, just trusting Him on those. I feel like every day I'm trying to do right, you know?
Well, at least in the leg-breaking moment, you listened.
If it was anything else I wouldn't have listened, because I'm stubborn! He had to really dig it in there for me to get the message.
And I'm glad he did, even if, at the time, I thought my world was crashing down on me. It was the biggest blessing, because now I get to do cool stuff like play in front of thousands of people and write songs for a living.
Have you thought about where your life would be if that hadn't happened?
Nowhere good! Maybe I'd still be playing football. Maybe I'd be working at a mill in my hometown, or working in trade somewhere. Or in jail, I don't know [Laughs]. No, not in jail. I'm a good kid.
It would be a completely different life, and I wouldn't have met the beautiful people that I have along the journey.
Speaking of beautiful people in your life, I know your mom is one of the most important.
She's an angel. We have a really tight relationship. She's been through so much, and I've been through so much with her. My perspective on life really changed when I realized that this is my mom's first time living life too. I just know she's been through so much, and she has always provided — sometimes even [doing] three jobs at a time — putting food on the table for me and my four sisters.
I trust her with my life. She's one of my best friends, and she's a huge part of why I'm even in music right now.
What have been some of the most meaningful moments to share with her?
We found out [about my] ACM nomination when we were all together. [She was at] the No. 1 party [for "Wind Up Missin' You"]. She's come to a lot of the shows — my Opry debut, my Red Rocks debut.
She's one of those moms that never missed a game when I was growing up. I'm very blessed to have her.
Does she have a favorite song on the album?
I think it's "Brunette." She loves that Western sound.
We actually made a bet. She was like, "'Brunette'" is gonna be the next big song for you. You just gotta tease it, you gotta give it a fair chance." I was like, "I'll give you $5 if you are correct." It's not that I didn't believe in the song. I just thought it was different than anything that I've done.
It started doing its thing on TikTok — nothing like "Wine Into Whiskey" or "Wind Up Missin' You," those are anomalies, but it's still pretty good, and people are learning the song. I didn't even talk to her about it, and I randomly sent her $5 on Venmo the other day. I go, "You were right."
She called me, knowing what it was about. She goes, "I told you!"
It seems like whiskey and women are two of your biggest weaknesses — has making this album helped you with either of those?
Oh yeah, absolutely. I definitely don't have a problem with any of that, I'm good. I like to keep my head on straight as [much as] possible. But yeah, I mean, everyone's got their vices — whiskey being one of mine. And casinos, I love casinos.
And I like girls, that's cool. [Laughs.] I like to write about 'em. A lot of the album is telling my truth behind some rumors that might have spread around town or whatever. I won't go into details about that, but they'll know.
You said "feels like I've been waiting my whole life for this" in one of your posts about the album, but how long has this actually been in the works?
I think the oldest song on the record is [from] four years ago. It was one of the first co-writes that I did, it was "Drinking Boots."
I teased it years back, and I still get comments and DMs. There's a guy in my DMs, I think he's on day 189 of asking for "Drinking Boots" [to be released]. He's skipped a couple days, but it started in 2022… I sent him [the track list announcement], and he goes, "Finally."
It's just one of those songs that has raised its own hand. I wasn't originally going to put it on the record, but I'm tipping my hat to the fans and being like, "Hey, I hear you guys, whatever you guys want, whatever you guys ask for, I'll give it to you."
I started making music just for me and my therapy, but now I make it because I know what music can be for others. Even if it's a fun song like "Drinking Boots."
When was the first time you remember being like, "Oh, my music is affecting people"?
Last year. "Wine Into Whiskey" was the first time where I was like, "Dang, I could make a difference here," just because of the reaction I got from it. The DMs, the comments — I read a good bit of them, because those are the people that are listening. I try to stay pretty in tune with my fan base.
I can't tell you how many times someone will come up to me and be like, "'Wine Into Whiskey' changed my life and got me out of an abusive relationship. It opened my eyes to how I was really being treated." It's just the coolest thing in the world that my music can help somebody like that.
It opened my eyes in the sense that, at a very young age, if I were to have just realized that I'm not alone in the way I'm feeling — because I went through a lot when I was young. And I was young, but I wasn't naive, I wasn't stupid. I knew what's going on. And if I just knew that I wasn't alone, I think I would have been way better off.
"What Not To" is about what you went through, alluding to your dad. With it being such a personal song, was there any hesitation to actually release it?
I knew I wanted it on the album, but I didn't want it to be the title track for a long time, because I didn't want to bring light to it. It's a completely true story from top to bottom, and something that's been super heavy on my life. But I just kept going back and saying, "Damn, 'What Not To' makes sense."
The whole record is talking about living and learning what not to do by doing the wrong things, or watching other people do the right thing. It just made too much sense not to make it the album title.
I know there's gonna be a lot of people out there that relate to ["What Not To"], and that's enough for me to be excited about it. It's a part of the [live] set now. People are liking it, and some people are crying. That just speaks volumes.
I don't talk about things. I just pour it onto the keys, or in a guitar string, or on a piece of paper. I know how much music has done for me, so if I could just do that for a handful of people, I'd say I'm doing the Lord's work. He's working through me, and that makes all of it worth it.
Of the 19 songs on the album, is there one that feels the most meaningful to you? I would imagine that's maybe "What Not To," but is there one that you're really proud of?
A couple of them. "Give Her the World." I feel like that's gonna be a sleeper song. That's one of my favorites. Every time I listen to it, I just picture a movie in my head. I hope someday that song gets a movie spot.
"Takes One To Break One" is probably the most important song in the album. It talks about everything [on the album] — brunette, casino, bad habit. It feels like the centerpiece to the album.
"Bad Luck Looks Good On Me" is one of my favorites. I'm a sucker for a feel-good song. I love sunshine, I love driving with my windows down. That song makes me want to do that.
You've been doing this five years now. What are you envisioning for the next five years, especially with the whirlwind that's been happening?
I mean, the easy ones are growing my shows and writing better songs and putting out better songs. But probably the biggest thing, in a music sense, is that I want to experiment a little bit.
I feel like I kind of played it safe with this first album. I have a lot of influence outside of country — not that I want to venture out in a different genre, I'm gonna stay country. But I'm going to start feeding more of my other influences into my country music. There's some experimenting to be done within the next couple of years.