Charly Reynolds has always loved belting out the legendary Martina McBride hit "Independence Day." She loved the way her voice soared on the powerful notes — and never felt as if those notes were too tough to hit.
That is, until April of last year.
"Suddenly, I was having trouble singing," Reynolds, 23, recalls to PEOPLE in a recent interview. "But I didn't stop singing. I just thought I was singing too much. I was taking on too much. Maybe I was just tired."
But the Florida native who moved to the outskirts of Nashville when she was just 18 years old was more than tired. By August 2022, Reynolds could not sing for longer than 30 minutes without losing her voice. Soon, she made a trip to the doctor — who determined that there was a much bigger problem.
"My vocal cords were very inflamed and hemorrhaged and bloody," remembers Reynolds, who soon after was put on a month-long vocal rest. "It was just the total opposite of what you're hoping to see."
In December, Reynolds realized that her vocal issues were continuing and eventually, Reynolds made the decision to undergo surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
"Scar tissue had developed on my vocal cords," Reynolds says. "I decided to do the surgery now rather than wait five years, you know?"
Indeed, five years from now, Reynolds may just find herself as a full-fledged country superstar, as she has already shown impressive vocal prowess on songs such as "Rodeo," "Tonight in Texas" and her brand-new single "Out of My Hands.'
Written alongside Zachary Manno and Emma Lynn White, "Out of My Hands" has ended up being a song that has taken on a whole new meaning for Reynolds, who now finds herself in vocal therapy with the hopes that she will be cleared to play shows again "in two months or so."
"Obviously, the title 'Out of My Hands' is just very fitting right now because this whole situation has been very out of my hands," says Reynolds. "I felt, through this whole process, that it's turned into something in which I feel like God is teaching me to let go of control. I've always loved to plan and have everything perfect and planned out, but this is an instance where I am not in control."
