I was in a very dark place for a long time. It's just so hard to have normalcy.

You need to be happy with who you are and, whoever that is, let your little light shine.

There is no greater feeling than hanging out with my dogs, or just walking around the land with our horses. My rescue ranch is is where I feel the most at peace and where I'm reminded of the simple things in life and let the chaos of my crazy work life fade away.

I'm cute - and God I hate that. Because that's not cool. I'm like your niece, and nobody wants to date their niece. It's the chubby cheeks. The whole reason people voted for me on American Idol is because I'm an everyday, normal girl.

I've got a song on One Direction's album called 'Tell Me A Lie'. It's a really cute song - I love it. I loved that they liked it. They sound really great on it. I already have it - I'm so VIP with my copy on my computer! It does sound really good.

It's amazing to impact people's lives - it's a cool thing to have the spotlight and be able to reassure people, to say, "It's OK to be you."

I've always been about less government.