An accomplished songwriter as well as recording artist, Rhett has seen songs of his cut by the likes of Jason Aldean, ("1994"), Lee Brice ("Parking Lot Party"), and Florida Georgia Line ("Round Here")�the latter his his first No. 1 as a songwriter.

He's also seen success a singer, notably with a pair of hits from 2012, "Something to Do with My Hands" and "Beer with Jesus," which gained him a strong following. Now, though, his debut album's lead single "It Goes Like This" is taking him even further. The song landed him his first-ever No. 1 as a recording artist on the country singles charts.

"It Goes Like This" was written not by Rhett but by his father Rhett Akins, a 1990s country star who is now one of Nashville's top songwriters (he frequently writes with Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip, a trio known as the Peach Pickers).

"He sent it to me and I played it to my phone speakers just sitting there by my ear," Thomas Rhett told Radio.com during a recent interview (watch below). "From the first listen I was hooked. I loved the simply brilliant lyrics, talking about writing a song for a girl. I just thought it was really a cool song and I knew that girls would love it and that guys would love it."

Rhett said he knew the song was going to be career changing. "This song has been a wild ride. It's my first Top 10 song ever and my first gold record ever. There's a lot of firsts that came along with the song."

Rhett cowrote eight of the album's 12 tracks, but when selecting a song he didn't write himself, he said he has to be able to imagine himself singing it live.

"If I can't imagine myself singing that song live, it's not going to work for me," he explained. "I've got to hear myself singing it in the studio and doing it for the next 20 years of my life in order for me to put it on a record."

It Goes Like This kicks off with the fast-paced "Whatcha Got In That Cup" and Rhett said he wanted to grab listeners right away.