I've always said I can't tell sometimes that people even have an album out until I see them nominated for a Grammy. I think country gets dumped on across the board by the Grammys.

I've been a lifetime Democrat, and I'm re-registering this year as an independent. It's strictly [because] my party, that I've been affiliated with all these years, doesn't stand for anything that I stand for anymore. They've lost any sensibility that they had, and they've allowed all the kooks in, so I'm going independent.

I want people raising my kid that see along the same lines of values and issues as I do.

I've been to two concerts in the last 10 years.Bob Seger and the Eagles.

I catch as much hell from the hard-core conservative people as I do the far left. The only difference is that the far right don't bring the hate to the table that the far left does. And that's my party. They just deal in so much hate. I mean the far left, not the Democrats, the far left really deal in hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.

I don't give a bleep if gays get married. That's just a contract, and that's between them and God. That ain't up to me to play God on that.

My deal will always be one solo performance-nominated or not. Not some thrown together rock tribute.