ATLANTA — Cyndi Thomson worked at a variety of jobs in Nashville, Tenn., as she tried to make it in country music.
"I was working my tail off, obscene hours waitressing in this business, trying to make it, thinking I'm going to and then doubting it," Thomson said.
She also cleaned houses and worked as a nanny.
Then Thomson got her big break five years ago — by shaving her legs.
She was hired as a leg model for a Capitol Records party for Deana Carter's album "Did I Shave My Legs for This?"
"The party was awesome. It was a great idea and it went over well," recalled the 25-year-old Thomson, who grew up in the south Georgia town of Tifton.
One of the other models was a writer at a publishing company who knew songwriter Tommy Lee James, who was looking for someone to help him write and produce.
"We spent two hours talking," Thomson said. "I told him my life story and I knew that if I didn't express how hard a worker I was that he might walk away. . . . I wanted him to know that I was determined."
James agreed to work with Thomson, and the result is Thomson's debut album, "My World," which was released in July. James, who co-wrote most of the songs with Thomson, is also the co-producer with Paul Worley, known for his work with the Dixie Chicks and Martina McBride.
The album spotlights Thomson's vulnerability and Southern roots.
"It's very honest and heartfelt," she said. "I want people to know who I am and hear the realness in it. Aside from the fact that it's from my heart, it's country music, and country music is real and true."
Her single, "What I Really Meant to Say," hit the top of the country music charts and was still in the top 15 after 31 weeks.
Thomson said the high point in her career so far was opening for Trisha Yearwood this summer.
"The way she treats her audience is just mesmerizing because she captures them with her good ol' Georgian thing," Thomson said.
Yearwood says she's proud of her fellow Georgian.
"I know how wonderful it feels to have that first single go to No. 1 and stay there," Yearwood said.
Thomson, who's been touring with Jo Dee Messina, is doing well for a newcomer, said Bruce Wallace, who directed her first music video.
"Musically, she's very fresh, very creative and she knows what she wants," Wallace said. "Her songwriting and musical influences come through. She has good intuition, she's grounded and she is driven."
Besides Yearwood, Thomson cites Karen Carpenter, Edie Brickell and Billie Holiday as her inspirations.
Her family, all in Tifton, recall the little girl who wanted to be like her three older sisters and sing in the church choir.