Ashley Monroe knew for a long time that country superstar Vince Gill was the producer she wanted to work with for Like A Rose, her second solo album, which was released this week.

“When it came time to make this record, his name just kept popping in my head,” Monroe tells Radio.com. “That’s who gets me completely. He gets exactly what my soul is, he gets exactly what my voice is. I just knew I had to have him produce this record. Thank God he said yes.”

Her writing relationship with Gill dates back to her teens. So when it came to choosing a producer for the album, he was her first and only pick.

“I moved to town when I was 15 years old from Knoxville,” she recalls. “Right after I moved there, Vince got a hold of some of my demos and called me one day and asked me to go to breakfast. I was freaking out.”

The morning of their big breakfast appointment, though, Monroe realized she needed a ride. She sheepishly called Gill. “I’m 15,” she told him. “I don’t have a car or a license, so you’re going to have to come pick me up.” From that moment, she says, they just bonded.

During last week’s All for the Hall concert, Gill had only praise for Monroe, who is also a member of the Pistol Annies with Miranda Lambert.

“The sound of her voice right off the bat you go, ‘OK, that’s a winner, that’s undeniable.’ It’s got that thing that you always hope for when you find somebody new,” Gill told Radio.com. “A lot of people possess talent, but not something so unique. On top of that, you hear that voice, and then you hear the old soul with what she writes songs from, and that’s one deadly combination. It’s so rare.”

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