I think I'm no different from any artist in music. At least once, you want to see your name up on the top.

I guess we guess our way through life. How many times do we really know for sure?

As a young girl, there were the obvious messages about what girls could and couldn't achieve. And to compound the limitations I felt being leveled upon me, I realized at the age of nine, that I was gay.

If I have a hit, then I hope the people who like the hit song go out and buy my album so they can hear it all.

I hear the word 'tolerance'-tha t some people are trying to teach people to be tolerant of gays. I'm not satisfied with that word. I am gay, and I am not seeking to be 'tolerated'. One tolerates a toothache, rush-hour traffic, an annoying neighbor with a cluttered yard. I am not a negative to be tolerated.

It's a great feeling to be recognized by your peers. It's an even better feeling to be welcomed and accepted by country radio and its listeners. If desire is any part of this equation, then I'm a contender!

In the first decade of my life, I came to know and love God, as I was raised in a Christian home and community.