Feature
The Life of a Teenage Country Singer in High School
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November 20th 2012
By Jenna Cocozziello - Radio Nation
jcocozziello@radionation.ca
At first glance Dallas native Ashliegh Lisset, 18, appears to be just your typical teenage girl. She attends high school, goes to football games, hangs out with her friends, spends time with her family and plans to attend college.
But Lisset is no ordinary Texas teenager. She is a promising young country singer who is hard at work on her dreams of becoming a country music star.
Being able to balance high school life with her music career has been challenging at times.
"It's really hard sometimes because obviously I want to spend all my time doing music," Lisset says.
Lisset is 
currently in the middle of her senior year at a Dallas area high school. In September she released her first EP titled Misunderstood. Her focus lately has been on two things, school and music.
"It has been harder because I have to start applying for college," she says.
The Texan says she has a serious interest in attending Belmont University in Nashville for music, but she is also focused on something else.
“Just focusing on getting signed to a label is a very big stress," Lisset says.
"Music is going to be something that I go to first," Lisset adds. "Music is never going to be a second option."
Lisset kept the fact that she was a singer quiet for most of her time in high school. It was only after doing an interview for her school broadcast system that the entire student population discovered Lisset’s talent.
Since then she has had to live with the reality of being a young musician in today’s technologically driven environment, but Lisset maintains that she is just a normal teenage girl.
"I do what everybody else does," Lisset says. "I go to the football games and I hang out with my friends from time to time."
Although she tries to maintain a normal life in high school 
there are times when Lisset notices the extra attention in the classroom.
"I do because I can kind of tell if people are looking at me," Lisset says. "I don't really act out in class. It's not that big of an issue for me. I am usually really quiet and I just do my work."
"I don't socialize very well and I feel bad because some people might think I am being snobbish but I am not," she adds.
Even though Lisset isn’t a country music star just yet, her high school celebrity-like status has already brought attention from those who are not as genuine as they appear to be.
"I do feel like I get a lot of attention for singing and it makes me feel uncomfortable sometimes," Lisset says. "It's not what I want people to know me for."
"It does bother me because it is like they don't want to be my friend for who I am and my personality. It makes me uncomfortable because it makes me feel in a sense that I am being used," she adds.
With social media playing a major role in people’s lives, Lisset has to be extremely careful with who she spends time with and what she does.
“You can tell that there are people that want you to do bad things,” Lisset says.
"I have a future to worry about. I'd rather not get in trouble.”
The last thing the country musician needs is to have pictures of her engaging in illegal or questionable 
behaviour posted all over the internet. High school parties are something that the Dallas teen often avoids all together.
"That is probably a big reason why I don't go and hangout with my friends when they go out partying," she says.
Despite being asked on weekends to attend some kind of party, Lisset will typically turn down the invitation.
"It is not really hard for me to say no,” she says.
According to Lisset there was the option of being home schooled but her mother wanted her to have a traditional high school experience.
"I really don't think I am different from anybody else just because music is in my life," she says. "I am just like everybody else."
Her advice to young singers planning on entering high school is simple.
“Don’t give into peer pressure and to never stop chasing your dreams.”
Lisset says the hard part is not being able to around her friends when she would like.
"Sometimes it can be frustrating because I want to go hangout with my friends," Lisset explains. "At the same time I know it is better for me and I definitely don't want to be known as a person who is doing things that they shouldn't be doing."
"I'd rather be safe than sorry," she adds.
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