I feel like I'm just trying to pave my own lane and just kind of make my own sound.

I get hurt when people talk bad about me because I'm not that person that will hurt anybody.

Music has been a huge part of my life, and I feel like it's a part of everyone's.

Matt McGinn and Taylor Phillips played a big part in getting me where I am.

I realized everything my mom had done for me: Anything we didn't have, she made sure we had.

On my posts, I would tell people, 'If you like this, give it a share.' If you go online and look at my videos, you might see where I have 80,000 likes, but 525,000 shares. That's where you gain more people as followers coming in. It took me a second to learn it all, but now that I have, it's been a blessing and a curse.

After graduating from high school, even though I was working, I didn't have enough money to pay rent, so I stayed with my Nana.

When I was younger, my mom and I lived in a car because we didn't have anywhere to go.

I just want people to know that they can make it through hard times like I did.

I was on the road with my buddy Alex - he's my guitar player - and we watched the movie 'Click' by Adam Sandler. And I don't know why, but me and him just got in our feelings. And then we ended up calling our girls, and we were like, 'We're so sorry. We wish you were here!'

A lot of people that only like country music, they're not fans of mine.

I got bullied so much growing up for being a different color in a majority white school.

If you come to my shows, there's all kinds of different races, all kinds of different people.

I still feel like an outcast on the inside, but it doesn't bother me anymore at all.

My music-making process is pretty fun and easy.

I've had a good-size fan base for a while.

My fans have always been supportive and have always been there for me.

Radio got behind me, and I'm very thankful for it.

I feel like I should show people that no matter where you come from - you can get beat by your stepdad, if you get picked on for your clothes and having no money - I just feel like everyone should know it will be all right as long as you keep focusing on trying to move forward and looking at the positive things in life.

I'm a role model to a lot of kids.

I'm definitely gonna be an outcast.

Growing up, we really didn't have a lot of money.

Everybody's got high expectations for me. I just don't want to let anybody down.

My first impression when I heard 'Heaven' was, 'Do not let anyone else have that song! I'm putting it on hold.' I knew it was special from the first time I heard it, and I thought my fans would love it as much as I did.

People always say, 'There are plenty of black country artists out there! There is Charley Pride! Darius Rucker!' That's all they can name. They don't understand what we go through, and a lot of people who are fans of traditional country music, as they call it, look at us and aren't going to say, 'Y'all like country music.'

Everyone should have equal opportunities and equal rights, but you can't even have an opinion without somebody going off on you. That's what's wrong with this world today.

I try to focus on my fans, who I know have been there since day one.

I have lots of tattoos and am biracial.

I'm used to having to worry every day.

The thing people see about me is my tattoos more than anything, but the color aspect does not help.

I'm biracial; I didn't know that until I was 7 or 8 years old. I thought I was full white, which, honestly, I can't even really say because I didn't see colors.

Once I got to high school and hit my growth spurt, nobody really messed with me anymore.

I grew up without a father figure.

As a country, we can do better. Our home should be a source of stability, not insecurity. This issue is personal for me... even with a steady paycheck, I couldn't pay rent.

That's what country music is: real.

Some people say I'm not country, but they don't really know how I grew up.

My nana was a detective; my nana was a great cop. You also have bad cops that were bullied in school or whatever and think that they have power, and that makes other cops look bad.

I love to sing and never thought I'd be able to do it, and it happened for me.

I feel like everybody has a dream, so why not try and help everybody to accomplish that dream.

I learned that my upbringing was rough, but there's other people out there where their upbringing is even worse than mine. It just gives you even more of a reason to want to help.

A lot of people say I inspire them or I've helped them - kids who have been bullied in school or parents coming up to me because their kids have been bullied or anything that they've went through. It really touches me.

It can beat an artist down when people say bad things about you.

I just like to see people smile.

I just want to help people, especially with the platform I'm on. I try and help people as much as possible.

I'm not a mean person, so it kind of hurts when people are mean to me, but that's life.

I could help a lot of people's kids that are going through racism or getting bullied. That's what I wanna do.

Some people have tried to change me and tell me what to do, but I haven't done it, and it's worked for me.

Chris Young was a big influence of mine, and he's one of my good friends now.

Color does matter, even though people don't see it. I've lived it my whole life. It's just what I know.

I feel like I am the outsider on the inside, if that makes sense. But I have coped with it.