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Rising singer/songwriter Shaylen crossed another major career milestone off her bucket list on Saturday night (10/5) as she made her Grand Ole Opry debut during back-to-back shows. Grand Ole Opry member Chris Young surprised Shaylen and the packed Saturday night crowd by doing the honor of introducing Shaylen to step into the hallowed circle for the first time after inviting her to make her debut last month. 

“It’s my honor to be able to stand up here on this stage as a member of the Grand Ole Opry and talk about somebody that I think is absolutely fantastic,” said Young. “She has an amazing voice, [she’s a] great songwriter, great person; y’all make her feel welcome for her very first Grand Ole Opry performance.” Watch a clip of his introduction here.

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An emotional Shaylen took to the stage and performed unreleased track “Country Enough,” a rock-tinged, twangy song about the lifelong magnetic pull she’s had to Country music rooted in her southern upbringing. Choking back tears, she got ready to close her set with top-streaming independent release “What If I Don’t,” a vulnerable track written in the “most broken place” she’s ever been in chronicling the tough questions that swirl around your head after a difficult breakup. 

“It has been a very long 15 years of chasing this, to step in this circle right now,” Shaylen said to the crowd to thunderous applause. “Right before I got to Nashville almost two years ago, I came out here for the first time to write. I wrote this next song the first day I was here with some amazing songwriters. If you’re chasing a dream, please don’t ever give up.”

Shaylen has always been one to write songs that come straight from her journal, and the Country riser was overcome with emotion seeing one of those “super big” journal dreams come to fruition before her eyes, telling the crowd, “It’s crazy to see journal pieces come to life.”

In an Instagram post made just hours before showtime, Shaylen expressed excitement and gratitude for the career milestone. “I always made lists when I was little till now of dreams I had and there are some I would title ‘SUPER BIG DREAMS’ and this happened to be in that box.” She continued on by sharing, ”His plan is always so much better and bigger than you think it’s gonna be and then you get to a day like this and wish you would have just trusted that all along rather than forcing it to happen your own way and timing.” 

This is just the latest goal the standout vocalist has been able to cross out on her journey to stardom. After signing with Nashville Harbor Records andamp; Entertainment earlier this year, Shaylen lent her signature “silky-smooth notes” (Country Now) to “Second Time Around,” her duet with labelmate Noah Hicks, and released “To Tell You The Truth,” which All Country News describes as “a perfect showcase of the singer-songwriter’s ability to channel her personal life into powerful lyrics that resonate universally.” Shaylen is currently in the studio working on her debut project with Nashville Harbor Records andamp; Entertainment.