Maren Morris stepped out as one of country’s most exciting new stars on 2016’s Hero, packed with poppy anthems that echoed everyone from Fleetwood Mac to Taylor Swift. Hero earned Morris, 26, four Grammy nominations (more than any other country artist this year), among them Best New Artist and Best Country Album. It’s the culmination of more than a decade of work, including failed auditions for The Voice and American Idol, and songwriting credits for Kelly Clarkson and Tim McGraw.

Morris sat down recently for an interview with Rolling Stone and talked about getting her start as a songwriter, her opinion of Bro Country and more.

Photo Credit: Mark Humphrey/AP