PEOPLE –  Cooper Alan has had a whirlwind few years, and has only gone up from there.

The country singer, 29, has made a name for himself online, where he boasts over 10M followers on TikTok, but what he’s most proud of is how he’s built a following for simply being his most authentic self.

Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE, the North Carolina native recalls how he first got bit by the entertainment bug when he started a cover band with some of his friends in eighth grade. “We played our first show and I was like, ‘This is so sick. There are 10 people here, and I’m having the best time of my life.’”