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I try to be a good representative for country music. But as a country artist, it's important to move the needle and make a difference beyond your core audience. But you can't ever strategically try to accomplish that; then things get weird.

I find a lot of up-and-coming musicians I enjoy, present them to my viewers - and hopefully inflate the growth of these artists by putting them in front an audience that wouldn't have been aware of them.

I've always wanted to be accepted by country music fans - without lying.

I'm treating country music like it's a sport. I'm looking at where my competition is and realized I needed to work on my songwriting.

There's a place for all types of country music as long as there is honesty and realness and a real human experience for the fans.

I don't want to put my fate in country music fans; I'm too stubborn.

You have to be willing to deal with the ups and downs of the music, the ups and downs of the audience.

I love being a part of the country-music community.

I don't think shoving my butt into people's faces will tell them anything about who I am. How is that connecting to your audience? What is that doing for your music?

My audience is a huge part of my success, so I see us as a team. They send me tons of song requests every day. Some of the songs I've never heard before, but I listen to them and then pick the ones that I love.