I definitely want to work with Kanye, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande – all the big people.
I try to stay away from talking about boys all the time. You can go to Taylor Swift to hear that.
For me, it’s actually really hard to write about my real experience. Like to do a Taylor Swift. You know what I mean? It’s so brave to actually write about things that happened and things you wanna get off your chest, but I’m not really there yet.
I went to my first CMA Music Fest when I was 14 and waited in line for two hours to meet two people: Taylor Swift and Hillary Scott from Lady Antebellum. It’s very ironic but not accidental that those two people refer to me as their ‘little sister’ now.
People were like, ‘he’s collaborating with Taylor Swift’ and I was like, ‘I am?’ I think she’s wonderful. Her songwriting has inspired me for years.
Country music has taken so many forms, and I’ve always contended that it does not matter if the casual listener falls in love with country music through Florida Georgia Line, Taylor Swift, Old Crow Medicine Show or whomever – just get in and start digging!
I’m very into Taylor Swift. From her music to her wardrobe, she is absolutely killing it. Also, she has adorable cats that I would love to pet.
I have huge admiration for Taylor Swift. She’s tall, talented, young, thin, and beautiful. More importantly, she seems focused, generous, vulnerable, and kind.
The second we were done on ‘The Sing-Off,’ we were like, ‘All right, now we’re competing with Rihanna and Taylor Swift.’ We’ve always set the bar high. We want a hit.
I picked up the guitar at 15 because of Taylor Swift.
We don’t sign an artist to fill a void, ever. I’ll never find a Taylor Swift. You can’t find a new Madonna, you cannot find a Prince, a Bob Marley, a John Lennon. You won’t find another Kanye West. We simply deal with people as they walk in, and we say we either love them or we don’t.
We don’t want to be part of some Tidal ‘streaming revolution,’ nor do we want to be Taylor Swift and be anti-it.
I don’t want to worry about someone calling me and going, ‘You better find a way to get another Taylor Swift record out this quarter.’ When there’s that kind of financial pressure dictating your path, it’s hard to take creative risks.
Every musician writes about past relationships. And other than that, I can promise you, I have very little in common with Taylor Swift.
I don’t know why I keep saying this, and I don’t know why I keep using their names… And I’m not dogging them. I’m not slandering them. I’m not saying they are bad musicians. But how can Taylor Swift or Justin Timberlake win for R&B and funk? They are pop singers.
I started going on YouTube and studying everybody who was super popular, from Taylor Swift to Beyonce to Michael Jackson to Chris Brown, just everybody… That’s what helped me find my voice and helped me find how I write songs, just doing covers.
