Joe Nichols got his big break in 2002, when his album Man With a Memory produced two big hits: "The Impossible" and "Brokenheartsville." In the mid-'90s, Nichols had released a self-titled album on an independent label, and put out four singles from the project, but with "The Impossible," Nichols had his first official radio single. Below, Nichols recalls to The Boot where he was when he heard "The Impossible" on the radio for the first time.

I was actually at the record label -- Universal South -- when I first heard my song on the radio. I remember it was lunch time, and somebody said, "Hey, swing by the office. They're going to possibly play your song on the radio." So I did, and they called me in the office, and there were about 25 of us -- everybody that worked at the label, and friends.

We all gathered around the radio. They played my song "The Impossible," and I think I wanted to cry but I wanted everybody to think, "Aw, he's cool, he totally expected this."

It felt like, "Wow, I think I just accomplished something I never thought would be possible, but here it is." I just high-fived everybody, [saying], "Alright! Way to go team! Everybody did a great job getting it to this point; now let's take it a step further. This is a great moment. Let's enjoy it."

It was the beginning of something special, even if it just lasts for 20 minutes. It was a great beginning. Everybody felt great about it; the song sounded great on the radio. I think it was just a really neat moment!

This story was originally written by Pat Gallagher, and revised by Angela Stefano.

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