Five Questions with Cassadee Pope
It’s a big week for country newcomer Cassadee Pope! The season three winner of “The Voice” is celebrating the release of her much-anticipated debut album, Frame by Frame. The 11-track collection is deeply personal to the Florida native, who contributed five co-writes to the release.
We recently caught up with the “Wasting All These Tears” singer to talk about the album, her time since “The Voice,” and her brand new CMT docu-series, “Cassadee Pope: Frame By Frame.” See what she had to say below…
CMIL: Why was it so important to you to let your fans help select the “Frame by Frame” album cover?
CP: I wanted the fans to select the album cover because they have been such a huge part of getting me here already. I thought to have them involved in some way creating this album together, it would make it even more special. I couldn’t be here without them. So to give them a little decision like that is no biggie for me.
CMIL: You mentioned that you were able to blend your pop, rock, and country influences together on your album. How did you accomplish that?
CP: I am able to go back to my country roots and have some of that pop/rock influence in the album because I never lost touch with any of it. Even when I was doing my pop/rock stuff with my band, I still listened to country music, I was still very in that world. Especially having Dan Huff producing the album, he has a similar background. We both did the pop/rock thing for a long time and then we just came back to country music together. He has a lot of the same sensibilities that I have. We had a great chemistry when we were creating this album and he really understood the sound I wanted and helped me hone in on it and bring it to life.
CMIL: It seems like you and Blake Shelton are still pretty close after the show. What does it mean to you to have that support from him?
CP: Having Blake as a support system, even after “The Voice,” has meant a lot. He doesn’t have to anymore, ya know? On the show, it’s his job to be my mentor. He genuinely cares and he invests in his artists and that’s what I love about him. Even after the fact he’s given me great pointers on just to stay true to myself and stay authentic. ‘Cause that’s what I did on the show and that’s what viewers liked, so I just need to continue doing that. He’s had me come out and sing at his show. I sang my single “Wasting All These Tears” on stage and that was really huge for me. There were about 25,000 there, in Indianapolis. He tweets about me and texts me and keeps tabs, so he does little things here and there, well they’re big things to me, that really help me and my career. He’s the best!
CMIL: What was it like filming the docu-series? Was it nerve-wracking to have the cameras around you all the time?
CP: Having cameras following me around for the CMT docu-series was a little jarring at first. You’re second guessing everything you say, whether you like it or not, it’s really hard not to, but after a while, I realized that I just needed be natural, I needed to just be myself and they’d capture what they needed to capture. I didn’t want anybody at any point thinking that I was trying to be somebody I’m not. Take it or leave it is what I say. They captured some really great experiences that I had out on the road and I’m excited for people to see that.
CMIL: What’s something that your fans might be surprised to learn from watching “Cassadee Pope: Frame By Frame” on CMT?
CP: I think fans might be surprised to see just how hard it is after coming off of a show like “The Voice.” You win, you think that everything is gonna be handed to you and you actually have to work even harder because there’s expectations and there’s a lot of pressure and you want people to believe that you deserved to win a show like “The Voice. There’s a lot of proving yourself. I think they will be surprised to see that a lot of work goes into that.
Fans can purchase Frame by Frame in stores and online now. Be sure to tune in to CMT for “Cassadee Pope: Frame By Frame,” which airs Fridays at 10 pm ET.
