Quotes from Kelsea Ballerini

I have a huge appreciation for music in general, but my roots are country.

Honestly, I'm such a shoe girl. I like to save money, and I like to spend money on shoes.

When I was 12, I was going through an awkward time. Writing music helped me find my voice and express the things I was feeling.

You really do have to be different. You really do have to set yourself apart.

I just want to be real and who I am. That's something I'd feel comfortable with any little girl looking up to, so that's who I try to be.

The Grammys to me, well, that's my peers. That's the industry thinking what I do is good.

As a fan, I connect with realness. Whether it's strong or vulnerable, if it's real, I can connect with it.

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.

I feel a loyalty to my favorite artists, and to have my fans feel that, for me, is a special bond because I've been there for so long.

I've always wanted to dye my hair a bright color.

'Peter Pan,' I think, was a game-changer. That was the first song that really had some heartbeat to it... I think that's the song that got people's attention.

The Grammys are just the pinnacle of music.

Always wash your face before you go to bed - skin care is key.

Me and my mom made a deal that if something would happen to help me get my start in music, I could get out of college.

I'm in this wave with Maddie & Tae and RaeLynn and Mickey Guyton and Cam. We're all kind of finding our niches and becoming successful. I think that it's just been really fun to be with them and do this all together.

It wasn't supposed to work - being a new artist, a female artist, an artist on an independent. That's what made it so much sweeter when we hit No. 1.

I was this little blond girl with a guitar case bigger than me - it was pink and sparkly at the time. But I always took myself seriously, and I think that people took that seriously. I would tell them about my goal list, and they listened. I was like, 'I want to be the one that swings the pendulum.'

When I was 13, I started writing songs, and it fell into my lap all of a sudden. I wrote poems and journals, but that's when it switched for me to songwriting. That's when I wanted to do everything. It was like a fire all of a sudden. I started coming to Nashville and moved here when I was 15.

I see little girls at my meet-and-greets who are like, 'Kelsea! It's my first concert and I came to see you.' And I'm thinking, 'I don't want to post anything online that your mom would be mad at me for, because you're important to me.'

Honestly, I was a fan before I got the opportunity to be an artist. I was the kind of fan who would stand in line or post a cover video.

Before I really knew country music, I listened to pop, and I still do.

I listen to everything. I sing country music, but I listen to different stuff.

I love when an artist can stand by themselves and play their guitar and hold a crowd, but I also love bells and whistles.

I wanted to be the girl that talks about getting a guy. I felt like that was a different approach to writing.