With my own material, I like maintaining lyric integrity. I like having sophisticated lyrics, and maybe that's not down-the-middle Top 40 pop, but it reflects my style, my life, the way I speak, and the way I tell what's happening with my life emotionally, so in that way, it's authentic to me.
I always loved writing, be it creative writing for school or just poetry. I just loved writing, and in college, I started really trying to write songs and was copying other artists, just to figure it out - but I think freshman year of high school is when I realized, 'I want to be a writer. I have something to say.'
I think it was in high school when I was listening to Sheryl Crow and Michelle Branch or Avril Lavigne - that time when female pop rock was really having a moment - and it really resonated with me. I started writing poetry, and I was learning how to play guitar at the time, but I didn't really put the two together for a while.
Growing up, I was so involved in music in different ways, be it taking piano lessons or guitar lessons. As a listener, I was always so inspired.
It's never been easy for me to express how I feel in situations where I know I have something to lose.
I've always been a fan of the '80s and, particularly, hair metal.
'Secret' is about intimacy between two people and the connection you have with someone that goes beyond words.
Everyone is scared of getting hurt, but having been there and taken the chance on someone and fallen in love - it's worth getting past all of your heart's reservations, regardless of how things transpire.
Just being a singer in Nashville is hard because everyone does music here, and so many people do it really well. But then, the fact that I do this alternative kind of pop music, dreampop... It's like I'm the lone unicorn roaming around this town.
'Too Young to Fall in Love' is an earlier cut from Motley Crue, but it's one of their best. I'm so drastically different as an artist from their sound, but the challenge of making it my own is what makes doing a cover song fun.
