My mom was always saying: 'Be whatever you want to be, but stick with it. Don't waver. Don't change who you are for anybody.

Falling in love is awesome, but I'm never drawn to happy songs per se, so whenever you sit down to write a heartbreak song and you're happily in love, it's like, 'OK, now I have to go back to a sad place to get something good.'

Is it guilty in here or is it just me?

I do write a lot from personal experience, but I also embellish a bit.

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

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

I have my own little sense of style. As far as image goes today for a new artist, you'll find that fashion is really important. I wouldn't want to show up for a performance in something that is absolutely the opposite of who I am as an artist.