I try to make sure that, when I'm writing, I don't put too much Cody in it. But I don't want to lose it either.

I absolutely believe that what you sing and how you act when you're in this position, should be the definition of who you are and where your heart and character stands.

Without changing my style and who I am, they [Trent Willmon and Dan Couch and Dale Oliver ] know how to draw those things out of me. It was a really cool experience on this record, because I tried really hard on the writing to make sure that I wasn't just writing it just like I wanted to.

I am who I am and I don't think you can put a label on it.

When you're in a room with a guy who has a vision like that, it's just one of those things where you close your eyes and just see that vision - then you just go with it. The guys that I write with are so incredible, just like my producer Trent Willmon, those guys know how to bring things out of me - especially things that I maybe didn't even know that I had.

I think if you expect it to do well, you come off a little bit cocky.

As far as the persona, I'm true to myself. Not because I'm arrogant, but I'm true to myself because I believe that you have to stand for something. When you start sacrificing that, even if it's just a line in a song or something you say on the mic at a show, or the way you treat someone when you see them out in public, that all reflects on who you are.