Cam shot to fame in 2015 with her breakout track “Burning House,” but the singer-songwriter had a completely different career before being nominated at the Grammy Awards: She worked in psychology labs.

After deciding to pursue her music dreams, Cam wrote for other artists, including Miley Cyrus, and released an album, Heartforward, under the name Camaron Ochs before her first single, “Down This Road,” earned her her first radio airplay in 2013 (and, later, her record deal). Below, the rising star recalls the moment she first heard herself on the radio.

I remember my dad calling me saying, “You’re on the radio,” and I had to run -- because I didn’t have a radio in my house -- so I had to run downstairs, turn on my car, and it sounded just like it did when I listened to my mixes in my car.

And then the DJ came on and said something, and I was like, “Oh my God, it’s real.”

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