Martina McBride has two real passions in life - singing and motherhood. And she tells US Weekly magazine that they "pretty much consume my every day." The superstar acknowledges that balancing family and career is one reason she works so hard to stay healthy, helping her enjoy the great things in life for as long as possible. Martina also shares her secret for a long-lasting marriage, what she thinks about chatter that she started the country-pop format, and her famous -- if somewhat unlikely -- friendships with a couple fellow musicians.

On how she and her husband, sound engineer John McBride, have maintained a happy 22-year marriage:

"I think it's important to find someone that you really like as well as love. When the infatuation runs out, the first phase of the relationship changes. You really have to be able to say 'I like to hang out with you. Let's keep hanging out.' And mutual respect, [you need] someone who is a good partner. It's really just [getting] lucky."

What she and John like to do in their downtime:



"We love to read, go to movies or out to dinner -- just boring stuff. We don't hang glide or parachute. [laughs].. I am reading a book right now by Anna Quindlen called 'Every Last One,' that's good. I read 'The Help' [by Kathryn Stockett] which I really loved."

On those who say she started the pop-country genre:



"Well, it's flattering. I think we definitely did a lot of music that is that pop-county. It's funny because I was raised on the really traditional country. I did a record called 'Timeless' that really paid tribute to that traditional country; but for the most part my albums are more pop-country. It's always changing. And there have always been people who cross over, you know Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. There have been certain kinds of country music that have always crossed boundaries."



How she gets along with
Kid Rock and T.I., with whom she recently recorded:

"I don't know T.I., we did not actually record together [T.I. recorded his part of the song separately], but, of course, Kid Rock is quite the character. He's great; we've been friends for about three or four years. I got to work with him in studio on this project and it was great!"

For a list of Martina's upcoming concert dates, click here.

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