Country singer Lauren Alaina credits small-town Georgia roots for strong work ethic, faith

There are bright spots in there too, including when she met her husband and when she welcomed her daughter.

“I closed the album with a song called ‘Heaven Sent,’ which is one of my favorites, and it’s about my dad sending my daughter for me to help me heal and move forward,” she said. “But the songs about my dad are definitely the hardest. It’s the biggest loss I’ve ever gone through. It’s still very hard, but the songs about him are incredibly difficult.”

Alaina got her start when she was a teenager as a contestant on “American Idol.” She competed on the show’s 10th season in 2011.

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When speaking with Fox News Digital, Alaina said if she could go back and talk to her 15-year-old self, she would tell her, “Thank you so much because this decision you’re making changes your life so much.”

WATCH: Lauren Alaina would thank her 15-year-old self for taking a risk on ‘American Idol’

“All the things that you dream of having, you get them,” she said. “I mean, the journey obviously looked completely different than my 15-year-old self could have ever imagined, and there were highs, there were lows, there were ups, there was downs, but I wish I could just tell her about the stage of life I’m in now. Where my career’s doing really well. I have this amazing husband and this beautiful little girl and, like all of our dreams came true.”

“Stages” is out now.