I love producing! It's so much fun to start with a blank canvas and create the picture you want to create and see it all come together.

Growing up, Santa Claus would cover the presents with a white blanket, so when we'd wake up Christmas morning, we had to wait for my dad to do the big reveal of all the presents Santa brought.

I really just tried to make a record full of great songs, which is the goal I always have.

I grew up singing in Kansas. My dad had a band when I was growing up. So I sang in church and school and started singing with his band when I was seven. So I've been singing all my life.

What drives me now is the desire to be able to keep doing this. I love making records and performing, and success means I will continue to have the privilege to do that. I know it's not going to last forever, but I'd like to keep having success as long as I can so that I can still be a part of this industry.

Let freedom ring, let the white dove sing, let the weak be strong, let the right be wrong... it's Independence Day.

Baby, I've tried to find a place inside your heart. Oh, but it's hard to start a fire without a spark.