You really do have to be different. You really do have to set yourself apart.

When I was 13, I started writing songs, and it fell into my lap all of a sudden. I wrote poems and journals, but that's when it switched for me to songwriting. That's when I wanted to do everything. It was like a fire all of a sudden. I started coming to Nashville and moved here when I was 15.

I've always wanted to dye my hair a bright color.

I've always been drawn to strong women in every genre, people who push the boundaries because they're just epic.

As a fan, I connect with realness. Whether it's strong or vulnerable, if it's real, I can connect with it.

There's value in being a normal person.

I think that, as artists, all we can do is be who we are. I think that if we do that, then we're automatically not anyone else.

I try to exercise when I'm on road - I really do try - but I also try not to push myself too hard. I just try to move.

Even though there are incredible songs floating around Nashville, it's important for me to have my voice heard.

I was writing country songs, but I wasn't listening to country yet. I grew up on a farm in East Tennessee, so my roots are country, you know? But I didn't know where those songs came from or where they fit.

People send me songs all the time that are literally no-brainer hits... but for me, I'm an artist because I'm a writer.

The first album is an introduction, and when people listen to it top to bottom, I want them to know me.

The fun thing about song writing is that it's just creative. It can be whatever you want it to be. For me, I'm really protective of that. I'm not going to write something because I feel like it fits here or it fits there - I just want to write music that feels good to me, you know?

Hillary Scott from Lady Antebellum is like my big sister.

In my opinion, it's all about the song and the performance, not the gender.

I did ballet, jazz, and all that, but I think hip-hop is really where I learned rhythm and groove, which has helped me in music.

When I was 15, my mom and I packed everything up and moved to Nashville so I could pursue my dream in music.

We had three cows and a goat. People from New York and L.A. are like, 'Oh my gosh, that's a farm!' But people in Tennessee are like, 'That's not a farm.' I've never milked a cow or anything like that.

I grew up loving music, like, loving it. I was involved in church choir, leading worship and all the choirs in my school - even glee club.

I also grew up on a farm in east Tennessee, so my roots are just naturally super southern, so I've always had that southern country lifestyle.

When Florida Georgia Line and Nelly put out the 'Cruise' remix, it brought so many more people to country music.

I have a huge appreciation for music in general, but my roots are country.

I was living in Knoxville, Tennessee, and I didn't really know how you would become a singer. I didn't even think that I could do it. I didn't even dream about it. But when I was 12, it was that year where I got tall, boys got cute, everything was weird. Then my parents split up on top of that, so it was a big year of change for me.

I wouldn't be an artist if I didn't have Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Taylor Swift to look up to.