Small Talk: Kellie Pickler, Eric Church + More

The Boot rounds up this week's most memorable quotes from country stars.

"I was 19 when I first auditioned for 'American Idol.' I'd never been on an airplane; I'd never been outside of my hometown, except to go to Myrtle Beach. I'm 22 now. I'm learning a lot about life, and it's all in front of the cameras." --Kellie Pickler (Source: WCNC)

"We're all three people: we're who we think we are, we're who the audience thinks we are, and we're who we really are. I think the closer those three people are together, the longer your career can last." --Kenny Rogers in an interview with The Boot

"Some of the best advice I ever got was from Kenny Rogers. He said to me, 'The way you go to the top is the way you'll go back down to the bottom. Slow and steady will sustain you. Hard work is the way to go.' I'm trying to follow his advice." --Eric Church (Source: GAC)

"I was so shocked. I started screaming, 'I get to go to the VMAs!' I didn't think I'd get to go to the VMAs. I'm not that cool. As a country artist, I've been pretty unapologetic about it. [But] it's cool to be included." --Taylor Swift on her MTV VMA nomination for Best New Artist (Source: MTV)

"I really thought I was done singing. I was just at a place where I'd lost a lot of confidence and I didn't even know who I was. But Dolly [Parton] totally took me under her wing and helped me up and over the cares of the world. --Jessica Simpson on her state of mind after flubbing the lines to '9 to 5' at the Kennedy Center Honors (Source: E! Online)

"It's a way of life. It's common ground to stand on so that we don't feel alone. And it's cheap therapy. --Crystal Shawanda, when asked, 'What is country music?' (Source: The 9513)