MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — Holidays can be hard, especially for children in foster care. One teen hopes to inspire them and let them know they're not alone.
She's only 14, but Payton Riley was born with an amazing voice.
"Ever since I was young, I have loved singing," she said. "I would go around the house screaming at the top of my lungs and so my mom was, like, one day, 'Would you like to do singing lessons to get some of that energy out?'"
She started getting lessons when she was 8 but the life experiences that inspired one of her songs came much earlier in her life, when her family decided to foster.
"I just remember having this little person. They didn't have anything," she said.
She went to Nashville earlier this year to record a song she wrote called "Love Heals."
"The first time I heard the song after she had written it, I just couldn't help but find myself in a river of tears," said Love Heals Youth's Rebecca Smith.
Smith founded the nonprofit "Love Heals Youth" to provide mental health counseling to foster kids.
"There's roughly nine group homes in Montgomery County. The kids range anywhere from 11 kids to 30 to 40 kids," Smith said.
After hearing Payton sing, Smith invited her to sing for the foster kids.
"Her other talent is that she is 14, so when she is with these kids, she's able to bring a whole other element that I'm not able to bring," Smith said.
Payton has already been nominated for the "Young Artist of the Year" award by the Texas Country Music Association and she still has big dreams.
"I would love to be like Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert and perform in front of thousands of people and just share my songs with the world," Payton said.
Through her songs, she also hopes to be able to open people's hearts.
"People think that foster kids are just the little ones, but there are old ones, too," Payton said. "And all of them need help and just so to raise awareness and so they can get involved and help kids that really need help."
Love Heals Youth is planning a concert with Payton in October. You can read more about her music here.