Frankie Ballard

“I'd like to wrestle an alligator and fly a fighter jet.”

“It's amazing how the biggest things in our lives - when we're around the fireplace and talking about them when we're older - the things that matter the most to us start off amazingly small and in a humble way.”

“I collect hotel keys. I hope to make something out of them someday. It would be cool to make a bar at my house and, like, the bar is all the hotel keys: lay them down and put glass over them. Or maybe even a coffee table.”

“I've always been a strategy kind of guy. I like laying things out and having a plan. Maybe not always a plan, but an approach and a vibe.”

“I've never felt the least bit entitled to airplay. Each spin I get means the world to me.”

“I like going to the movies by myself. I love going late at night when there's barely anyone in the theater. It's very relaxing.”

“The best times I've ever had and the greatest lessons I've ever learned were when my feet were out over the edge of the line, and I was at risk of getting a little beat up, physically and emotionally.”

“I don't really have any hobbies.”

“Money definitely doesn't stress me out. I really don't care about money... I probably should a little more.”

“I'm a Detroit Tigers fan through and through.”

“I want to be the guy with the fresh new sound. I can remember as a kid thinking about a DJ going, 'Ladies and gentlemen, here's the new one from Frankie Ballard. He's the guy with that hot new sound.' That's the dream.”

“Are you really into pop? Are you really into old country? Blues? If you're not honest about your influences, then things don't sound as real as they can be. They're not as sharp a cheddar cheese as they can be. And I'm trying to be the sharpest cheddar I can be.”

“I definitely respect the men and women who came before me and how much those people gave to me musically.”

“I'm the world's biggest Bob Seger fan. He's like my Elvis.”

“If I'm blessed enough to have financial freedom in this world, my family is the ones I owe thanks to first.”

“I'm a big 'Cosby Show' fan.”

“Someone might look like an overnight success, but there's a lot of hard work that goes into it, and rightfully so. That's the way it should be. There are exceptions to that rule, but in country music, people really have to pay their dues.”

“Some people are songwriters, and some people are just recording artists. I'm both. I write and record.”

“My dad is a big Outlaw country guy - Johnny Cash, Johnny Horton, Waylon, Willie. He loves Elvis and turned me onto Elvis. He was always playing me stuff. He and I would sing and entertain the family. We'd have a little skit on Thanksgiving or whatever.”

“'Boys of Summer,' to me, is like the end of the summer, man. That heartbreaking feeling where you have to go back to school, your summer love is coming to an end, and the leaves are changing. That was always such an emotional time for me as a kid, because I loved summer so much.”