Billy Currington at the Texas Club

• By MICHAEL FARRAR
• Special to 2theadvocate.com
• Published: Jul 29, 2008 - UPDATED: 7:45 p.m.

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How would you feel if superstar Shania Twain called and invited you to sing a duet?

Rising country singer Billy Currington could hardly believe it when that amazing moment happened to him.

"It kind of came out of the blue," said Currington. "I will never forget her asking me to do the duet with her. I knew before it even happened that it would be something that would help turn my career around and set it on a great path. That was the turning point for me. Another blessing in my life I am thankful for."

Their duet, called "Party For Two," was recorded especially for “Twain's Greatest Hits CD,” which sold over six million copies worldwide. It went on to become a Top Ten country hit single.

As a solo artist, Currington has had hit songs of his own including "Good Directions" and "Must Be Doing Something Right," which both went to number one on the country charts.

"I think I started playing and singing in church when I was a kid,” Currington said as he remembered his early beginnings. “But I never thought much about being an artist. I didn't even know much about it until I was in high school. That's when I started playing guitar and singing for friends."

Long before his Nashville glory, Currington grew up in a small town with a population of less than five thousand people. It was a town in which everyone would know everything about everyone else who lived there. With that said, the folks in Currington’s hometown of Rincon, Georgia encouraged the young singer’s talent.

"People started saying, 'Hey, you need to move to Nashville.' So, I just started thinking that way myself. When I was seventeen, I knew I wanted to graduate, get out of high school, get up to Tennessee and check it out," Currington said.

Currington eventually auditioned for the world famous Opryland four times, but never made the cut.

"It was a great experience going through things like that because it kind of toughens the soul,” Currington explained. "Looking back, I'm glad it didn't happen for me then. It really was a blessing that it didn't work out that way because so many other things started opening up."

His first single "Walk A Little Straighter" became a Top Ten country hit, but touched on abuse he suffered from an alcoholic stepfather.

"I wrote part of it when I was a kid and finished it later on, right before I finished my first album. And I never planned on that song even being on an album and for sure never planned on it being a single on the radio. It just kind of happened that way. It touched a lot of people," he said.

In addition to his musical talents, some compare Currington’s looks to movie star Matthew McConaughey, which strikes him as funny.