I started to write a lot of ballads that were sultry and had a Norah Jones-for-country kind of feel. I wanted to bring elements of old soul music and old country music.

I had a band with a girl in New York, and we would go around and do gigs. And then I happened to start getting work as an actress.

What I loved about country music when I was a kid was the Grand Ole Opry, was Hee Haw, was 360 degrees of entertainment.

This way, if I did the album myself, and I produced it myself with my own label, it was going to be done the way I wanted to do it. If people like it or don't like it, it doesn't matter; I got something that means something to me.

I think, ultimately you know in your heart how much work you've done. You know what you're doing, if you're being honest on stage or not. That's all you being you. But when you acknowledges it - especially with a Tony Award nomination - you just can't help with the guilty pleasure!

My father has a manufacturing company in Kentucky and he's an electrical engineer. A brilliant man. A brilliant businessman. So he understands the business aspects of my business very well. My dad and I always communicate when I have to negotiate a deal.

I'm definitely inspired by music; I feel like I can express a part of myself, a part of my heart and my soul, that I can't express just acting by writing music or singing music. It takes the emotions to another level. I feel really connected to something else, you know.