Perfectly Flawed

In fact, Carlile is a fourth-generation country singer, even if she's still marketed as a pop artist. There was a while, during Carlile's formative teenage years, that she rebelled against her heritage and turned to Britpop, particularly Elton John, whom she thought "was really edgy" (she laughs at this now). But no matter how she tried to avoid it, "It just came back to me in this way that made me realize it's a little less about what you love and what you want than who you are," she says. "I know I have that thing my mother has, that my grandfather had."

And that's the story behind how The Story came to be, the album that (rather than Carlile's debut) should've introduced her to the world. "The Story is going to be the album I'm terrified of following up," she says, laughing.

"Me and the Twins have been writing a lot lately, writing songs that are very exciting to us," she adds. "[But] I think in some ways I'm afraid, because I'm really proud of The Story. I don't regret a single note on that record."