I feel like I've started to grow up and be more of a woman instead of this crazy girl.

I just feel like it's easier to co-write sometimes, especially if you have chemistry with somebody. It kind of takes all the pressure off of you. But, you know, I started writing songs by myself. I didn't really have a co-writer, besides my dad. When I see a record and it has a song on it that someone wrote [alone], I just really believe in them as a writer. I feel like it's a window into them, more than it is if you write a song with someone else.

I hope my music sets up the platform for me to be able to do lots of things - to have a cowboy-boot line, maybe, or do a perfume or makeup deal.

My mom was never afraid to say, 'I'm sorry. I screwed up.' I feel like that's an important lesson.

I carry a weapon. I got a death threat a few years ago and was really scared. But I don't want bodyguards. I am my own security.

There's been a shift: Country music is popular music now. Every other genre wants to come over to our land.

Heartbreak is good fuel for country songs. And cheating.