Kellie Pickler Plots New Album, Has No Plans for a Baby Any Time Soon

Kellie Pickler has a lot going for her. At only 24, she's seen success as a former 'American Idol' contestant, which has resulted in two powerful albums and a slew of hit singles, including her new anthem, 'Tough' -- and she happily married Kyle Jacobs earlier this year. But for someone so young and so vibrant, Pickler has also seen a lot of hardship.

As a kid, Pickler's father was in and out of prison and her mother was physically and mentally abusive, if she was around at all. The country starlet learned how to be 'Tough,' and is now fighting against everything she once knew through her music as she learns how to stand on her own two feet. Taste of Country recently caught up with Pickler, who dished on her forthcoming new album, which she says will be the most personal yet.

So on the album, you wrote with your new husband, Kyle Jacobs. What was the writing process like?
Well, Kyle and I wrote together for the last album -- there was a song that we wrote called 'One Last Time' that I recorded for the last project. But, we've written a lot recently for this record, and I'm not sure which songs that we've written that are actually going to make it. I have a good feeling that they will, and I hope they will. Kyle is such a blessing. He's really not only my husband and my best friend and my soulmate, but he's an incredible songwriter. I'm so blessed to be able to have a relationship with him in the way where have a personal relationship, but we also have a professional relationship where we can go in the studio and write and record together, and you know, work together. We share the same passion. It's neat that we get to weave those together.

Do you know when we're going to be able to get our hands on that album?
We haven't set a release date as of right now, but it's looking like fall.

Can you share the title with us?
Actually, there's not a title yet! I haven't named it yet. We've still got three, maybe four songs to track, and we still have the artwork to do. We haven't done the photo shoot, you know, the pictures and all that stuff. I think once we get all the songs finished and I get them in the specific order that I want them to be heard on the album [and] we get the artwork done, I'll figure out what works and what title really wraps all this up into one word.

Well, tell us what we can expect in the way of a theme or sound. We read that it's a more personal reflection of anything you've done so far. How so?
Well, I think the previous songs that I've written and recorded are my life. Songs like 'I Wonder,' that's my story -- I didn't just make that up. I didn't just pull that out of thin air. That's a true story and is a reflection of my life. I think with this project, I'm very much more involved, or I'm actually involved -- I wasn't involved in the production process at all on the last two records, because I didn't know anything about it and I really didn't know what I could do and couldn't do. Now that I've given it a couple swings and I've got my feet dirty and kind of figured out, you know, what it is I want to do -- which is real country music -- I'm able to take those people that influenced me to be in the first place, like Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn, people like that that I grew up listening to ... I want to put some of that flavor in it as well. You know, it's not going to be like they would do it. It's going to be like I would do it, but with little touches of some people that inspired me kind of in the mix.

I'd never been a part of the production process where I stuck up and said, "You know what? I want some banjo. I want spoons. I want fiddle in this part of the song, or I want steel guitar on the beginning of the song!" I've really spoke up and put my two, three, four, five cents in. I'm excited about it. I love this first song ['Tough'] and I hope that everyone else likes it as well, and likes the direction we're going and can grow with me as I'm growing and trying to get better and find my place.

You and Kyle have been married a few months now. Are you guys thinking about babies yet?
Umm, we're not having a baby any time soon [laughs]. We're not planning on it, but you know, life can bring you little surprises. You never know. But we're not trying. We're not trying.

Listen to Kellie Pickler's New Single 'Tough' | Kellie Pickler Tells the Story Behind the Song