In country music, one of the ways we may have gone wrong in the past is trying to be politically correct all the time.
The Internet was a saving grace for promoting and exposing, and even creating. It's a parallel world to the music industry that already exists, and I'm glad to be a part of it.
The tastes of country music fans are not limited to the narrow range defined by consultants and programmers and record company moguls.
I wanted to play music. I didn't think about where it would go or what it would do.
The artists in country music who stopped having hits are the ones who were led into something that wasn't them.
Miles Davis was doing something inherently African, something that has to do with all forms of American music, not just jazz.
At the end of the day, I want the music industry to be larger than what it is today.
Music will never go away, and I will never stop making music; it's just what capacity or what arena you decide to do it.
I think that what is important is that the music be honest and direct and that it is relevant to today. I think music needs to be of its time and speak to that time.
Let's face it: pop music in its myriad permutations will always be sexually presumptuous, racially controversial and, frequently, politically charged.
There's nothing better than live music. It's raw energy, and raw energy feeds the soul.
To me, rap music is bigger than who's the coolest rapper, the biggest rapper. It's everything about your personality.
Though music transcends language, culture and time, and though notes are the same, Indian music is unique because it is evolved, sophisticated and melodies are defined.
Country music originates with the colloquial, rural aspects of white America. It's really, truly, rural white America's blues.
I don't really know what inspires me to write the music I do, but usually, the music will set the tone for the lyrics.
I truly thought I was going to be in pop music. And then I joined a choir to meet girls, and everything changed in the first rehearsal.
Shania Twain brought a whole other fan base to country music with her sound, the way the videos were produced.
And of course, pop music is all about memorability and simplicity and positive messages and a little dash of joy.
I never really thought I was going to be a singer, honestly. I never listened to singers; I always listened to rap music.
Now my music is kind of pop-rock, right? If I'm 25 and singing still, I don't want to be singing music like that.
Without the blues, modern music would be nothing like it is now - not remotely.
