To do what I love every day and have the support of the fans, it does not happen like this all the time, so it is important to be thankful... I know it doesn't last forever, and we have to get it while we can.Collection: Thankful
When I'm getting a chance to do my job or make somebody's day, and be on stage where I love, and see all the fans having fun, you can't help but smile.Collection: Smile
I remember this song by Clay Walker that came out in the '90s called 'This Woman and This Man,' and it was about breaking up, loss, the pain of moving on, and my parents were just getting divorced at the time, so I listened to it over and over again.Collection: Moving
My dad always believed in me. He was always kind of, 'All right, buddy, if that's what you want to do...' My mom was always more of a realist.
I'm a Georgia Southern boy.
Taking care of the people who take care of you - that's how I was raised and how I like to do things.
I'm just glad to be singing songs that touch people.
You don't have a voice yet when you first come out. So even though I knew I had some deeper songs, my first album had to be about the tempo and the fun.
'You Should Be Here' set the tone that, 'Alright everybody, I want you to listen to this album.
The older I get, the more special time with family gets.
There's families all across the country that miss people, but there's nothing like military families.
I know that a lot of our troops like country music. I would love to do anything I could to just help them out.
That's why I fell in love with country music: it made me feel something.
I started to sing after high school, and I may have dreamed about being Randy Travis a time or two.
Growing up, all I did was play sports. I always loved music, but I never even thought I'd be on stage one day.
After I went to college, I realized that no matter how much I loved sports, I was ready to have fun, and that was right when I started to sing.
I was a business major, but the more I played music and the more I got into songwriting, I realized this is what I loved, but I kept asking myself, 'Is this what I'm supposed to do - move to Nashville?'
For me, that first album, there was a lot of fun stuff.
It matters if people believe you or not.
As an artist, as a person, I don't want to be here for just a little while.
I want to be somebody, a person, first that people remember, but also, I want music that I release to still be around. I don't want it to just be cool for a second and be gone.
I want to do this for a long time; I want people to be saying, 'What is he doing still playing in clubs?'
I've always wanted to treat people the way I want to be treated.
The fact that I have the chance to learn from the names I've been on tour with, I don't think you can ask for any more than that.
We need to take care of people that are out there busting their butts trying to make it; that's what everyone's done for me.
I've had the chance to meet families with children who are sick, and it's heartbreaking.
I know how fortunate I am and my family are to be healthy.
I'm blessed to have the platform I have, and I'm going to spread the word. There's a lot of great causes, but I don't know anything that hits you harder than a child being sick. It's not fair; they don't deserve it. I'm ready to know what I can do to help.
Every year since we got started, I think that it's going to get harder to top it, but with all the support, somehow things keep getting better. That must mean we are doing something right, so we're just going to try to keep doing what we're doing.
I always loved country music. But I didn't even know I could sing. I just knew I loved the music.
Whenever it was spring break, someone would always have a guitar down at the beach, and they'd play a random song, and I'd sing. Eventually, hearing compliments from people saying I sounded pretty good stuck with me.
I've been able to experience so many things since I've had my record deal.
I've always wanted to release a song that could actually touch someone and help them through a tough time.
We wouldn't be where we are without people loving our music.
I like the songs that are fun, that aren't gonna change the world - I've some of those - but even something like, 'You Should Be Here,' that was my chance to say, 'Look, this is me, too. I'm just a normal person.'
You get to tell your story through your music if you choose to.
My first album, I had to write everything. Nobody was going to send me stuff just because I had a little success.
I always said, if I got a record deal, I'd want to record the best songs I could, whether I wrote them or not.
Whether it's a show or an interview, the way I look at it is that one day people might not want to interview me. So I want to enjoy this ride while I can.
When you find what you love, and you find people that will support you, you're living the dream whatever you do.
Sometimes I get all the credit, and it makes me feel bad because I'm not the only one out here sacrificing everything. There are people out here on the road with me with kids and families, and they're out here busting their backs for me.
I just kind of go with what I am feeling and don't think I have any kind of recipe for it... I mean, that's what drew me into writing. It's fun, and sometimes you don't get a great song. Sometimes you do.
I like my buddies to come out to shows on weekends, but they hardly ever get to any.
Just being from where I'm from, a little small town, I feel like I'm a good judge of character.
I always say I broke my mom's heart when I left. I don't know if that's what any mom wants for her kid, just thinking about how hard it is trying to make it in this business.
I'm never the best singer in the world.
I had a publishing deal way before I had a record deal.
Every single day I wrote a song, I was hoping somebody like Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean or whoever would record the song. It's tough to do because there are so many great songwriters in Nashville, and I was lucky enough to get some songs recorded before I got my record deal.
When I left college, it broke my mom's heart, but I knew I had to be in Nashville. I knew that was the place you had to be in to become a better songwriter, and that's what I wanted to move there for and to ultimately get a record deal.
It's just crazy to have a dream - have a plan - and then it all just kind of comes true. To me, that proves that you have to have a vision first.