Aubrie Sellers

I was always drawn to darker sounds, things with an edge and a little bit of grit, things that have a lot of emotion and a lot of drive.

It's very important to me that every person takes away their own meaning from a song, and it's why I don't always love spelling out what a song is about for somebody.

At this very early stage in my career, I want people to experience the music first and let it drive their imagination and their experiences.

'Elle' is such an iconic magazine, and the intersection of fashion and music has always been something that fascinates me.

Sometimes I'll meet somebody, and they've looked me up online or whatever, and they've never heard me talk or met me. I think they expect me to be a lot darker than I am and maybe less - not less friendly - but I guess I'm drawn to that dark emotional music. Maybe they think I'm a little more brooding.

I'm a very friendly, smiley person.

My favorite movies are from directors that have a vision, like Wes Anderson or Tim Burton.

One great thing about my mom, about the business, is that she has a really great head on her shoulders about everything and always has been 100 percent about the music and not about the other junk.

I think that soul, to me, is the theme of music that I connect with.

So much of the music I love is polarizing. People might either hate it or love it, but they remember it because it was different. That means it was pushing buttons and not just following trends.

When I first started performing, I was a nervous wreck. Honestly, sometimes I felt like I was going to run off the stage.

I always knew I was going to do something with music, but with my whole family being in the business, acting was something that was just mine. But when I was 20 or 21, I started writing songs and felt the itch to make a record.

I love narrative videos, but sometimes I think they can limit a listener's experience of a song.

I don't tend to write when I'm happy, which I think is pretty obvious.

When I'm writing, I'm focusing more on just the basic melody and the lyrics.

What really excites me is the production. I get in there and change a lot of stuff.

I think that because I have so many different influences, and that shows in my music, that different people can connect with it.

I grew up in the entertainment industry, and I think being around that gave me a different perspective on people and what's real and what's fake. I think about that a lot, and it comes out in my songs.

'Sit Here and Cry' was one of the first songs I wrote with that overdramatic sarcastic dry sense of humor, which is why the energy of the song doesn't necessarily reflect the subject matter.

I think my music is a little shocking to some people because my voice is very traditional-sounding, and my music is not.

Listening to 'Raising Sand' was one of those turning points in my life that really made something click in my brain.

Playing at the Opry, for me, it has such a history. It feels sort of like a coming-out party as a country artist. To know your heroes have played here is kind of crazy.

That's why I made my record before I had a label. I put it out independently - in a way, out of fear - because I didn't want anyone to change it.

I didn't sign a record deal; I didn't do any of that. I made my record independently, and I went out and hit the road in a van.

The drums are very trashy: it's all electric, it's very in your face, and it's not perfect. It's raw, and I think that's what 'garage' means.