I think anytime you get nominated for an award, it's a very humbling thing.

I love barbecue, it's my favorite thing to eat.

I’ve never really gotten into the whole labels thing. There were times I would cover a pop song, and people would say ‘You sound really country.’ I gave up on that whole thing a long time ago.

I decided I was just going to sing the type of songs I gravitated toward and inspired me and moved me. I was going to let the people whose job it was to decide what places to put it, and let them do that. I’ll stick to the singing part.

I pay such close attention of the record making process that most people would assume are very little and wouldn’t be that big of a deal; the packaging, the title, and the harmonies, I think, are arguably as important as the lead vocals.

Sometimes you get so jaded, you don’t have those initial connections and emotions with music, because you are promoting your own.

I’m obviously very involved with my own charity and foundation that I work with. Obviously, I’m very passionate about that.

As a singer, I just want to try to honor what the writers create – and as someone who’s trying to write songs, I just hope I can stand in their company and not embarrass myself.

There are very few people that I deal with from a business side that it’s just strictly a one-sided business relationship. I think that’s important.

Over the course of a day, you get to get a feel for where you’re playing, so when you get out on stage, you already feel like you’ve had a bit of a bonding experience with them.