Growing up, my parents loved Bon Jovi and Boston and Rush and all that, but it wasn't really connecting with me. I was still in my boy-band phase - Backstreet Boys for life!
Empowering girls is extremely important to me because, growing up, I needed those empowering women to show me the way. When my parents divorced when I was 11, my mom was a force to be reckoned with. She showed me how to be self-sufficient and independent.
I came from a private school, and public high school was the first time I ever went to a public school. So I went into it very preppy; I was wearing a lot of Abercrombie and Hollister. Then, my sophomore year, I started listening to rock bands. I had a boyfriend that took me to my first rock show, and I was just addicted to that.
I went through all these different phases in my life. And now, I'm finally in a place where I know who I am; I just needed that extra push. I feel really, really good in the position I'm in right now, and I don't feel like I completely neglected my pop-rock sound: I was able to bring it in with my country roots.
I always felt in my band and in the pop-rock format that I wasn't weird enough, that I wasn't standing out enough. Wearing things to get people's attention - I didn't want to do any of that. I didn't want to compromise myself.
I went the more pop-rock route when I was around my teenage years, actually around 13 years old. I think Avril Lavigne really jump-started that. I heard 'Complicated,' and I fell in love, and I've loved her ever since.
