From Law School To The Grand Ole Opry: Elizabeth Nichols Breaks Down Her Milestone Year [Exclusive]

Nearly a year and a half ago, Elizabeth Nichols made a decision that would change her future entirely. She moved to Nashville in August 2024 with the intentions of simultaneously attending Belmont Law and pursuing her love for music. But by December, she quickly gained momentum with her debut single, “I Got A New One,” and by January 2025, Nichols had left law school to pursue music full-time.

“I fully was like, I can do both. I was convinced. I was like, I am going to be able to do both. It’s not going to be an issue,” Nichols told Country Now with confidence.

The main challenge for juggling both paths came down to touring. The songstress quickly realized that attending in-person classes while trying to build her music career on the road wasn’t going to be possible.

While she’s putting her law aspirations on hold for now, she hopes to revisit that passion at some point in the future. Until then, she’s leaning into the momentum she unexpectedly gained from sharing “I Got A New One” with the world. It’s officially been a year since the song dropped, causing her to take an indefinite break from law school. During this time, her career has skyrocketed and resulted in a whirlwind of achievements, opportunities, and the kind of unforgettable experiences that most budding artists could only dream of.

“It really started when we were looking at record deals. It was like, ‘Wow, this is going to become my full-time job.’ It was never even a thought that that was a possibility,” she admitted. “So it was very a quick change.”

For most of her life, music had been a private passion, something Nichols enjoyed deeply but didn’t define her among her close circle until that song got the ball rolling and Nashville started to take notice of her talent.

“It really was crazy my entire life music was never something that was so associated with my identity. It was something that I always loved, and it was something that I was always passionate about, but it was never the first thing somebody knew about me. And that quickly shifted in the past year that the only thing a lot of people know about me is my music, which is so, so different from how I’ve previously lived. But it’s a blessing,” she revealed.

Nichols’ long list of achievements and milestones over the past 365 days includes signing with Pulse Records, teaming up with a management team, and performing her first-ever show, which eventually turned into her quickly crossing off playing in bucket list venues like CMA Fest, The Bluebird Cafe and the Kentucky Derby.

“It’s really crazy because I remember my first time singing at church and literally feeling my knees shake when I was a little girl and…it had been so long since I felt that feeling because I’ve sang every Sunday and, you know, I’m used to it, but it was completely, it took me back to being 12 years old and my first time singing on stage,” she said of her first performance as a Bonafide Nashville rising star. “I was shaking, my legs were shaking everything. I was just so nervous. My very first show, it was at The Basement in Nashville, Tennessee. I was opening up for Wyatt [Flores] for, I did a quick popup show. I sang I think two songs and I was so nervous.”

By her second performance, Nichols said that all those nerves had faded, and she hasn’t felt them return since, even while learning how to command bigger and bigger audiences on the road with everyone from Waylon Wyatt to Wyatt Flores, Little Big Town, and Russell Dickerson.

Nichols’ career took another exciting turn when Kelly Clarkson performed a cover of her song “I Got A New One” on The Kelly Clarkson Show, pushing it to No. 1 on iTunes for weeks. Additionally, her fanbase has continued to grow rapidly and her streaming numbers keep climbing, especially with the release of her debut EP, Tough Love.

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This project was yet another huge milestone for the budding act. Not only was it her first time putting together a collection, but it was made even more special because it was built on tracks that she wrote alone in her room as well as ones she penned with a few of her favorite co-writers around Music City.

“It really is a great snapshot of the last two years that I’ve been writing music. I love it. I love the EP. It was very fun. It was exciting to pick the title and to pick which songs went together and messed together and listening to it top to bottom. I’m very proud of it,” she admitted.

Looking ahead, she is eager to keep writing about the things she loves and the experiences that inspire her because as she shared, songwriting is something she can’t stay away from. Whether she’s alone or with other writers, or even just writing for fun, she’s always creating. With bold songs like “Bible Belt,” “Little Birds,” “Daughter,” she has already defined her personality, brand, and songwriting voice in such a short time and proved she isn’t afraid to speak her mind. Now, she’s excited to share new songs over the next year, starting with her latest single, “Oh The Things Men Do,” available now via PULSE Records.

Nichols recently capped off a milestone year by celebrating the one-year anniversary of “I Got A New One” with her Grand Ole Opry debut on November 1. The night was deeply personal, as she honored her late mother, a dress designer who passed away from cancer when Nichols was ten, by wearing one of her original designs adapted for the special performance.

She performed her debut single alongside an unreleased track, “Birthday Candles,” which served as another tribute to her mother. Even knowing how risky it would be to perform such a personal song on an already emotional night, Nichols felt it was the perfect way to honor her family, who had come out to support her.

“They’d never seen me perform it and to honor my mom in that moment, she was Miss Texas 1992 and I wore this beautiful pageant, long gown and had my hair huge, and even doing the interview after I felt like I was doing the pageant interview, it was a very full circle. Perfect. It was perfect. The moment couldn’t have gone better.”

With her fearless songs and magnetic presence, Elizabeth Nichols is a name that’s poised to take the country music world by storm in 2026. She’s set to make her Stagecoach debut in 2026, has several other major festival appearances lined up, signaling even bigger things ahead.