Hayden Panettiere isn’t new to singing, although not everyone realizes she was both an actress and a pop-star as a teen. But the 23-year old says it just wasn’t for her, and after a few years, she decided to focus solely on acting.

After a huge break came in the form of “Heroes”, Panettiere’s star continued to grow, and as one of the stars of ABC’s drama “Nashville”, she says she’s ready to come back to the vocal work she used to love. In fact, she does all her own singing on the show.

“I said that if I was ever going to do music again, I would do country music. There’s honesty and truth in it….and for this to come along and to get both of the things I love combined in one show, it’s a dream come true. Really. And I don’t mean that in a cliché way,” Panettiere says.

Panettiere and co-star Connie Britton will be coached by the likes of T-Bone Burnett, who has produced an impressive list of albums over the years, and Panettiere says she’s excited for the opportunity to try out a musical genre she never got to play with before.

As Juliette Barnes, Panettiere gets to play the bad girl with a golden voice, and the show is sure to draw in fans with her portrayal of a scheming, beautiful star…especially since she’s already drawing comparisons to good-girl country singer Taylor Swift.

I really think Taylor would disagree wholeheartedly,” she said. “She’s much nicer than my character.”