Mitchell Tenpenny has long known that life is far too short. But never did that somewhat overused cliché ring as true for him as it did in the pandemic-stained year of 2020. "Life changed, for all of us," explains Tenpenny, 31, during a recent interview with PEOPLE. "Things were taken away that we never expected to ever be taken away." Following You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. Not only did the road warrior find himself stuck at home in 2020 due to the ongoing pandemic, but the country music hitmaker also lost one of the most special people in his life over the summer when his uncle died after a battle with COVID-19.