Early in my songwriting career, when I was learning a lot about writing songs, I'd force myself to sit down until I came up with something.

A big part of country music is a way of life, at least from my standpoint. That's how I craft my music from my own life experiences.

Probably fishing is my first passion.

I always look back to awards shows and think about being a kid watching them.

To have your first No. 1 as an artist was everything I could have ever dreamed for. Now we're keeping our fingers crossed, and hopefully we'll have many more, but there's certainly nothing like the first one.

You always have to work to become a better singer, songwriter and performer.

I want to be comfortable on TV. If I'm comfortable, they're comfortable watching me. I think nothing's more icky than watching icky on TV.