It doesn't really matter to me what the rest of country is doing. I'm not caught up in trying to make a record that sounds like everybody else. That, to me, is a record label's absolute biggest downfall.

I am a sports fanatic and being able to perform at halftime for the fans of the Steelers and the Jets is such a thrill for me.

In my mind, as long as I did what was right for me, I was cool. But that's not the way it works. You have to think about other people and take their feelings into account.

I've certainly had to bite my tongue on occasion and live to fight another day, so to speak, on certain things. But when you're new and fresh, you come out and think, 'I don't want to screw my chance up, so I'll go along with what everybody else does.'

I believe there's things all around us that make you do good things and some that make you do bad things.

I want to see success right away. And I want to never give up, never stop.

Sometimes you have to listen to other people, and see what the audiences want. That's what entertaining is about.