Jana Kramer

I was five years old, onstage singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' - a rock version - and I was always wanting to entertain. But the biggest thing for me is just country music has helped me get through the worst times of my life and the best times of my life. I want to give that back to people.

L.A. was never me. Nashville is my home.

I missed the country sounds on the radio. I missed the Deana Carters and the old Faith Hill songs that are more richly country and not so highly pop. So I really wanted that to be on my first album.

I'm from Michigan, but I'm just as country as anyone else. Maybe I don't have the speaking voice of most country singers, but it is what I love. It's how I've always sung, and it's what I grew up on.

I was a bit scared because I came from the acting world. There was a fear that people would think of me kind of as a joke. But really, people think of me as a country artist who can act. That's my favorite compliment.

I have to thank country radio for believing in me.

I'll never sing something that I've never been through. So even if I didn't write it, I have to have at least experienced it.

I never want to be too mean with my songs, but with 'I Hope It Rains' it was definitely somewhere in the middle with being sassy but also a little class in there as well. It was a good blend for me and who I want to be perceived as an artist.

There's no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't be in the position that I am if I didn't have my 'One Tree Hill' fans. They're the most dedicated, devoted fans. They're behind you no matter what. If one person says one bad thing about me on Twitter, they're fighting back!

I would love to do a duet with Tim McGraw. I think that would be fun.

The coolest thing, too, is that people that have never even seen 'One Tree Hill' tell me, 'I love your music.' And I'm like, 'Oh, do you watch the show?' And they say 'No.' And to me that's even cooler because that means I'm actually starting to get country fans.

It's honestly every time that I'm doing something, and every time I visit a station and hear my song on the radio and people buying my stuff, I'm like 'Are you kidding me? This is insane!'

I'm kind of a gypsy, so I love living out of a suitcase and going from place to place meeting people.

My mom wanted to be a country singer, too, so country was always being played. And my girlfriends and I used to go to concerts, like Brad Paisley, in middle school and high school.

I think music changes and it evolves.

I've always had a niche for entertaining since I was a little girl.

In Los Angeles there's, like, this awful image because the girls are so skinny. I don't think it's attractive whatsoever, and I also think that it gives a bad image to kids that are in their early teens. It's not healthy.

I have too much drive and determination to let anything falter me. Because I know that life's short and there's so much that I wanna do, and I can't do anything that might hold me back or get stuck in.

I have an amazing family. I was raised in a wonderful mid-west family.

I think I have a good head on my shoulders.

I love sports. So if I was like a sports anchor or something like that. I would love to do that.

People were always asking me who I wanted to tour with, and I always said Jason Aldean or Brad Paisley.

I do remember the people who believed in me in the beginning. I'll never forget that.

I'm from Michigan and a down-home girl.

Gradually, people are connecting with my music, and that means the world to me.