After spending several years as an unsigned musician, she finished in fourth place on the thirteenth season of American Idol.

Her debut album, What's So Hard About Bein' a Man, was self-released in 2011, three years before she gained national exposure on reality television.

[3] When she was in the seventh grade, she moved to Slapout, Alabama, where she joined the Montgomery Youth Orchestra, eventually becoming principal second violin.

"[6] Meuse's musical influences include Coldplay, Miranda Lambert, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Stevie Nicks, Death Cab for Cutie, Bruno Mars, and Shinedown.

[4][6] In October 2010, Meuse won the Stars of Alabama Artist Showcase, a statewide music competition that was judged by professionals from Montgomery, Atlanta and Nashville.

[8] While participating as a musical act in Vans Warped Tour, Meuse was encouraged by friends to audition for the thirteenth season of American Idol in Atlanta, Georgia.

[12] All of the contestants reprised their audition songs for top 8-week, giving Meuse the opportunity to sing "Blue Eyed Lie" again.

However, the producers changed their minds late in the week and gave the contestants a short amount of time to choose a replacement from a very limited list of songs.

She has jokingly referred to her experience on the show as being like the Hunger Games, and in one episode, she braided her hair in the same style as Katniss Everdeen.

[15][16] Several reviewers and journalists felt that Meuse was unfairly treated by the show, such as Annie Barrett, who wrote for TVLine that the judges were "just blatantly not rooting for her at all.

[18] Parker further wrote that Meuse received "harsh critique" for praise-worthy performances,[19] even as the judges overlooked significant flaws in other contestants.

"[21] Writing for TV Guide, Liz Raftery assessed fan opinion as being "frustrat[ed]" with the judges, over their poor treatment of Meuse.

[28] Michael Slezak of TVLine, who praised the song for its gritty vocals and "stinging lyrics",[29] went on to rank Meuse's live performance of "Blue-Eyed Lie" as one of the thirty greatest moments in the history of American Idol.

[32] Following the tour, Meuse went back to performing shows mostly in Alabama and Georgia,[33] although she also played occasionally in California and Tennessee.

[36] Although Meuse expressed on Twitter in late 2016 that she considered Los Angeles to be her "second home",[37] she continued to reside primarily in Slapout until the end of that year, when she moved to Houston, Texas for a position with the Lone Survivor Foundation.

[47] On April 15, 2020, Meuse premiered the song "Because You Love Me" as part of a virtual concert for Bethesda Lutheran Communities.

[57] After she and Jena Irene Asciutto participated in American Idol's thirteenth season together, they got matching tattoos of the Roman numeral XIII.

[59] Meuse's mother, Sheila, worked as the assistant director of the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System, where in 2014, she became a whistleblower exposing mismanagement in the VA.[38] Her efforts, and the VA's subsequent retaliation against her, have been detailed by the Montgomery Advertiser and NPR.