I believe in God. I believe that He's real and I believe He has control over a lot of things and I think throughout history there has been a lot of countries that have turned their back on Him and the result is not great.Collection: History
You never know the plan. You never know what's going to happen. We are not even promised tomorrow. I just try to focus on one day at a time.Collection: Time
My dad had a guitar that he gave me. I went to Walmart and bought a chord chart and hung it up in my room, and I was just trying to figure out how to play the guitar and put words with what I was learning.Collection: Learning
I don't have any answers, but in my personal opinion, I'm a person that has faith and I believe that a lot of people have neglected God.Collection: Faith
From a young age, I took an interest in the music and my mom noticed it.Collection: Mom
I didn't know if I could write. I was writing all these songs at home and was like, 'Maybe I can write?'Collection: Home
There's a lot of things we go through and we don't even know why... At the end of the day, God has a purpose and a plan for you, and that's kind of how I take that.Collection: God
I didn't want to act like I'm too cool for school or anything like that.Collection: Cool
I still dabble in different types of music, but I'm sticking to my Country roots.Collection: Music
People aren't just listening to my single, but they are listening to the whole album - and that's really encouraging to me because you just never know what's going to happen when you put something out.
My whole life, baseball was my first love. I was gonna go play college, but during my senior year I tore my ACL, and college kind of faded away with their offer, which I understand, obviously. That was a dark time in my life.
I try to focus on what I love doing and if those things, those awards, those accolades, those tickets keep selling and coming like they are doing, I'm going to relish in it and live my life the best way I know how and be grateful.
I really got into Three Doors Down - that's the sound that was out when I was 12 or 13. I really loved Breaking Benjamin and bands like that.
I definitely don't wanna be known as the 'Up Down' guy. I love singing that song, I love that song, but yeah, there's definitely more to me than just a party for sure.
I'm by no means the person that I strive to be. I don't think anyone is the person that we strive to be. But I try.
My 91-year-old great-grandma would get out of her chair and whip me if I start acting like I'm some star or something like that.
Whenever my parents got married, my dad had a mullet. Me and my dad are very similar-type people with the way we look and the way we act, and I figured if he could get away with it when he was around 25, then I could try to do the same thing.
I think sometime during the peak of 'Whiskey Glasses' is when I realized: 'Man, this is really starting to happen. People are not not just singing these singles, they're singing every song on my album and really invested in what I'm doing.'
I'm always saying normal things, and people usually understand me, but they're like, 'Where are you from?!'
We don't put the Ten Commandments in school anymore. We just neglect everything and people act like the Ten Commandments is something so terrible. I mean, it's a way to live. I think we all could agree on what they say.
As soon as I was old enough to move and walk, I went straight to sports. My mom said I never even played with toys.
I've established this kind of wild persona and these redneck party songs and a live show that's kind of rowdy, but I don't want people to think that's what I'm all about.
I wanted to put a song out there to let people know who I was and, at the same time, help me set apart from a lot of different people in country radio.
I can speak for everybody in saying we've all been through a breakup to where you didn't want it to be over.
My parents are avid supporters of me, and just hearing my name and the word 'Grammy' in the same sentence would be a dream come true. I mean, that's something you put on your tombstone.
A lot of people say I talk like 'country-gangster' almost. I don't know how that's possible or how that happens, but some people say that.
I took a few months off after my senior year was over, and I prayed and tried to figure out what was my plan and my purpose. That's how I started writing songs and playing guitar just to get my feelings out.
I don't want to be New Vocalist of the Year; that's not a goal of mine. If those things come along, that would be awesome, but that's not something I strive for.
I listened to Country music a little bit, but it didn't enter my life until I started listening to Eric Church.
I think that the best music and the music that people relate to the most is the honest music that people feel themselves in it.
And it's always good to get back home and see the people you love, and get to spend time with your family on top of playing your music.
It's cool to be able to relate to people who aren't necessarily from the same way of life as me or don't even maybe know what I'm talking about in some of my songs. It's just cool that music has that ability to do that.
I know that I come from a place of small-town roots and of humble beginnings and I try to keep those things in my songs - just stuff that I know people like me can relate to.
I feel like that's my foundation and my roots, what I believe in - no matter where life takes me, I'll always be the same guy and same person at heart.