But as far as being an American and loving this country and getting a chance to travel across it every day and meeting people on the road and folks in the military, I love this country on so many different levels.

I mean, the last thing I want to do is be involved in politics.

George Strait is the king and Kenny Chesney is about as big as it gets right now, though I wouldnt mind going back out on the road with him. Maybe I could go out on the road with some singers from other genres.

But as far as being an American and loving this country and getting a chance to travel across it every day and meeting people on the road and folks in the military, I love this country on so many different levels.

In Vegas, everyone lets their hair down a little bit and it's a little looser. You expect to see some different stuff and hear some different stuff. Even the red carpet is different here.

As a songwriter, you might write every day and throughout the course of a year you might get four songs that are really special.

I think if you sing a song for the first time to your mom and dad, or your friends, and they go, 'That's pretty cool'-if you're playing at the local bar somewhere, or the coffee shop, singing songs, or if you have a gig somewhere and you're singing your own songs, I think that's some version of making it. ... It's not just about having commercial success; it's about having a great life.