Jacob Whitesides

I will write a verse or a story and bring it into a songwriting session, because that's what's big in Nashville - the collaborative part of songwriting.

I'm a Fritos Burrito guy. Me and Taco Bell have a love relationship on Twitter; they follow me. Out of 16 people they follow me, so I'm very loyal to my girlfriend, Taco Bell.

I love pop music, but I feel like the genre is overpopulated - there was so much bubblegum for a while, but I feel like Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran are bringing good, real music back to the radio.

On a good day, I usually tweet 50 to 100 times.

I think a lot of people think it's easy to just post stuff. They think it's the easy way to fame nowadays, but it's been hard. You have to film the video, which takes forever because I'm super picky about all my takes and stuff. Then you have to edit it and upload it, and doing that three times a week is very, very difficult.

I feel like that's so important, to enjoy my own music. Because if I'm not passionate about my music, then it's going to show to the fans.

I'm still finding myself as an artist. I'm still experimenting a little bit.

Playing in those bars where people really don't care about your music really gives you an appreciation for when you get to a concert, and people are singing your original music - it's been a great journey, but I definitely didn't have an interest in music as a kid until I was a teenager.

My mum is the funniest and sweetest person I know; my sister's like my best friend, so it's great having them around.

You put Drake on anything, and it's money.

My cat Isabella, she doesn't get along with anyone else. She's kind of like me: like, very anti-social and fierce. So we speak to each other on a spiritual level, and we cuddle every night. So it's pretty serious.

I actually like spending time alone - it doesn't bother me at all.

I am here talking to 'Rolling Stone' because of an iPhone. Music has transformed because of Apple.

When all these huge offers start coming in, people see dollar signs. People see fame. I just knew that it was a lie. Unless you really hit it off in radio right away - a lot of my friends didn't, and they were getting put in so many horrible positions where they were getting stuck. They weren't even allowed to release music.

My fans are definitely my shareholders, and I'm extremely thankful for them.

My email is constantly full, and I'm constantly being called, like, 'We need your decision on this.'

I feel like a hit will come whenever it does, but I don't want to sit in a studio trying to figure out the magic formula and mixing spices and trying to come up with the perfect song.

Although the views have gone up and the comments have gone up, I never drop a project and disappear.

The control game has just been changed. The artist has a lot more control than the label, which is special. I feel like the fans crave that. I feel like they can tell when it's not genuine.

Being able to tour and experience all of the stuff that comes from touring, and then being able to come back to Nashville, it's almost like therapy to be able to get into a session and talk about all of the things that I'm going through. It's so much more real to me.

Sometimes I think we live in a world where, even when things are good, people always feel unsatisfied with wherever they are, so I think first I just want to enjoy being happy where I am now and not let my ambition take away from being in the moment.

I started homeschooling when I was 13. I wasn't really doing the social media thing yet; I didn't have any fans, but I knew that public school wasn't the place for me. It was draining my creativity, and so both my parents supported me in being homeschooled, and they really gave me a chance to focus on getting good at guitar.

I stay up late; I'm like a vampire. I stay up until, like, 6 A.M. and then sleep till 4 P.M. I lay in bed till it's dark, and then I come alive in the night.

I played at different restaurants with my dad for a good year before I started doing anything on social media. I wanted to hone my craft before I put anything out there.

I never really wanted to be a singer, because I was a super-shy kid. Singing made me feel awkward, and I was really insecure.