I was always a homebody who wanted to be somebody's wife.
Gabby Barrett
I Hope' is the fourth song that I'd ever written in Nashville. I didn't know that it was as special as it was.
So many people have been so supportive of my music, my music videos, everything all around.
When I got into the Nashville scene, with the Ross Coppermans and Zach Kales and Jon Nites and Nicolle Galyons, all these people who have No. 1 hits with huge celebrities, they were able to show me creative ways and right ways of formulating songs.
My dad is my rock. Every single penny he earns goes into my dream.
I'm actually pretty boring, to be honest.
The first time I ever had a song play on a legit radio station, I think I was about 13. It was a song of mine that I had written called 'Young Blood.'
There were a lot of challenges I had to face on 'American Idol' that helped me grow in a few different ways that I'll take forever with my career.
I naturally gravitated first to R&B and pop: Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle.
I just think falling in love and being married completely changes your life in so many ways.
There's a lot to learn in Nashville. This town is just filled with amazing, talented, smart people, so it's been an honor to be part of that community and to have everyone open their arms wide to me.
Country radio has been so supportive.
That's how I want to be with stuff: I always want to be in country music, first and foremost, forever.
I'm always looking to find things that are different in country music.
I always try to write from a genuine standpoint.
Labels and people didn't know if i could write original music or anything.
All of the genres are just blending now, which I think is another super-cool thing.
From a young age, I was never into going out and partying.
I've always loved R&B. That love seemed to start in church. But then I saw Carrie Underwood on American Idol, and I fell in love with country. Heck, I loved the hair bands of the '80s too, so I have always loved country and rock 'n' roll.
From 11 to 17, I just toured my butt off with my dad and my sister. We hit the road and I was singing all kinds of different songs and different types of genres. But I knew from an early age what I wanted my sound to be, which was country on bass, and I wanted to be a country artist.
Actually, zero labels were jumping toward me, and I couldn't get to anybody. Nobody was paying any attention. And I was like, 'OK, I'm going to put my nose to the ground and really work on writing and creating some good songs that people could gravitate to.'
My fans have been amazing.
I'm not the kind of person who walks in a room and is just like, 'Hi everybody!' I'm more somebody who is quiet and who isn't good at starting conversations.
I think acoustic performances and full, live performances are always cool in different ways.
I'm getting to put my music out into the world the way that I envisioned and hoped it would be when I was little, and that is a total dream come true.
I think 'American Idol' has prepared me for anything.
Full live performances are always my favorites, and I think a lot of people's favorites too, just because you can feel the energy off the crowd and there's so much more interaction, and just everything overall is just like very hype.
I am very close with the whole cast; the Top 5 of us from 'Idol' are still super close, especially Cade and me. Wink wink.
I love romance and talking about love, and I think it's one of the greatest things you can talk about.
Country is and always will be my heart, but I don't have a problem with it spilling over into pop if it wants to.
So, Shane & Shane are my favorite Christian artists out there.
Things that are like overnight success things don't last long, and that's not something I wanted.
Something a lot of people don't know about me is I sucked my thumb until I was in like eighth grade. It's cause, when I was a baby, I sucked my thumb and I guess my mom and dad never weaned me off of that, because they thought it was cute. And then it's like an addiction. That's your security blanket.
To be given a chance to be in the finals was a dream come true, and I will forever be thankful to the whole 'American Idol' crew.
I think you get a lot of influence from what your parents play around you. So I always loved country, R&B and rock.
Nobody has done Mariah Carey whistle-tone notes in country music that I've heard of, and if you're capable of doing it, you might as well add it in.
I've always tried from a very young age to be positive.
There's a happy medium to everything, even with powerhouse singers. You don't have to belt it out all the time. You don't have to overuse something.
I wasn't born with nerves. You have to take yourself out of the equation and think about everyone else - you're the entertainer.
It was actually really hard to get a record deal after 'American Idol.'
Be in Nashville if you want to be in country music, because everybody that can help you is here.
I always wanted a girl growing up, as well as a boy, so to have a girl first is just really exciting.
Not every single person is bad, not all guys are bad, and I found my good one.
I really respected women that could sing their tails off and entertain really well, so I wanted to get that across before I brought any of my own music into it.
I was a terrible writer at first.
If you're going to compare me to somebody and it's going to be Carrie Underwood, I will absolutely take that as a compliment.
I wanted to put in the time and the work, because eventually it pays off in a good way.
For marriage, yes, people always had their opinions of, 'Oh, you're too young,' because it's become a stereotype, for some reason, for people to get married later in their 20s.
I try everyday to give it my 110%.
Just stick to what you feel you sing best at, no matter what it is.
