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.

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.

When you get performance slots for award shows - that's a big deal for me.

Alcohol is perfect for me to curb the nerves a little bit.

I think 'Country Girl' is one song that can veer into country or hip-hop or rap. You can listen to it and enjoy the humor and the fun in it.

When I'm writing a song, it's just me and the songwriters. Then when the song is done, there are publishers that hear it, then people in my management, then my wife and my boys and my friends, and if they're all lovin' it, it's kind of withstanding all the criticism I need.

I'm a really, really optimistic and really, really positive person. My main thing is, 'Enjoy life. Celebrate life.'