My fans get enough politics on TV every day. I want them to think for themselves. I don't want them to listen to me.

I'm proud of the fact that I'm at a point in my career that if I want to take a little bit of a left turn and make an album that is more hushed, more acoustic and more personal, that I can do it.

I truly believe that music is the most powerful thing we have.

I'm like a shark. I've got to be constantly moving.

We leaned on family, church, school, friends and sports. That's basically all we had. All those things really shaped my life and shaped me musically. It's why I write the way I do.

An important mentor for me, in terms of teaching me that there's a right way and a wrong way to do things, was probably my football coach. And playing football was one of the first times in my life that I realized nothing is given to you. You have to work really hard.

It's tough enough to have a relationship, and it hurts enough to have it not work.