Kameron Marlowe Made His Grand Ole Opry Debut and There Was Only One Problem: 'I Couldn't See Anything!'

Kameron Marlowe was raised in the land of the Earnhardts. The country music star in the making grew up in the very same town which the late NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt came from, and he too found that the pursuit of something greater pumped through his veins.

"We have a big old statue of [Dale] downtown in our little town center down there," says Marlowe, 24, during a recent interview with PEOPLE about the towering 9-foot, 900-pound bronze statue symbolizing the impact Earnhardt made during his short life. "I love it."

And in a way, some might assume that reaching the Grand Ole Opry stage last month for his Grand Ole Opry debut was Marlowe's very own finish line of sorts, a milestone he began chasing shortly after landing in the top 24 of Season 15 of The Voice. But perhaps, the Grand Ole Opry was far from a finish line.

Perhaps it's just the beginning for Marlowe.

And while Marlowe may have been raised with a certain amount of speed in his blood, the gritty country music storyteller made a conscious decision to take the night of his Grand Ole Opry debut a bit slower in an effort to take it all in.

"When you walk into the Opry, there's such an overwhelming sense of humbleness," says Marlowe, who received news of his invitation to perform while on stage with Brad Paisley. "You know all the people that have been there before and all the amazing artists that have played on that stage. Just being able to be a part of that and feel that was an incredible experience."

While waiting for his name to be called into the wooden circle, Marlowe says he took the time in his assigned dressing room to look at the pictures of the legends that lined the walls.

"I kept on looking at the pics of Randy Travis and of Montgomery Gentry," Marlowe remembers. "And it wasn't just the pictures. There's quotes in there all over the place that are just really powerful."

Joining Marlowe in that famous dressing room were his parents, two of the many people that have supported each and every one of the aspiring artist's dreams since the very beginning.

"They hung out backstage with me up until the moment I started playing," says Marlowe. "My family has been absolutely the most supportive people to me. Just to have them there in that moment was special."

And as he began to play the opening measures of his fan-favorite song "Tequila Talkin'," his parents were there in the front of the house. There was just one problem.

"Honestly, I couldn't see them — or anything else," Marlowe says with a laugh. "It was so bright, which helped me because I was nervous as all get out."

Naturally, Marlowe concluded his three-song set with his new single "Giving You Up," the song that has cemented his place on the country music map.

"This song is so special to me because it comes from a real experience," says Marlowe about the song whose origins came from a real-life breakup and has already gone on to earn him more than 108 million on-demand streams. "I knew when I wrote that song that it was special, but it ended up changing my life in ways that I never expected. I never expected to go into music. I never expected to be an artist. But for some reason, that song just took off and people loved it and it changed my life."

Little did Marlowe know that he would also receive a concrete piece of proof that his life is now forever changed — a plaque presented to him onstage, recognizing his first-ever RIAA gold certification for "Giving You Up."

"I don't even have words for that," he says quietly. "I wrote 'Giving You Up' by myself and at such a dark time of my life, so to be able to now have that song out and people listening to it enough to be able to have it be certified gold is an incredible feeling."

Another thing Marlowe never expected was that at the conclusion of his Grand Ole Opry debut, he would end up getting a standing ovation.

There was just one more problem.

"I didn't even know that I got a standing ovation until I got off stage because like I said, I couldn't see anything!" laughs Marlowe, who recently released his new track "Raise One Up," a rip-roaring anthem that will play perfectly as he heads out on the road with Riley Green next month. "My manager Kaitlin [Madewell] had to tell me. I had no idea!"