Cassadee Pope, Sam Palladio Dish on Their Blossoming Romance, Future Projects

Cassadee Pope and Sam Palladio made their red-carpet debut as a couple last week at the ACM Honors ceremony, stopping by to talk to PopCulture.com, where they dished on their blossoming romance, future projects and some top-secret info.

"We tried a couple of co-writes, we had some wine," Palladio told PopCulture.com when asked if the two singer-songwriters have written together. "And then we got hungry and went out and had dinner. That's kind of how it happens when you have the luxury of that. We got to collaborate a little bit live in the UK a couple of months ago. I had some festivals and some shows, and Cassadee came out to enjoy the festivals, and we had a little holiday.

"I couldn't not bring her out," he continued, "so we had a little European stage debut. We just have yet to write a hit song together."

"That's on the books," added Pope. "We need a third writer. We need a third writer in the room to keep us on track. I think that's the secret."

Pope and Palladio famously influenced Carly Pearce, who took Pope's advice and started to send DMs (direct messages) to her now-boyfriend, Michael Ray, on Instagram.

"If you want something to happen and you're into somebody and you think they're cute, slide into the DMs and feel it out," Pope said. "The worst thing that could happen is that they say no. Big deal."

The couple started dating late last year, but didn't go public with their relationship until several months later, surprising both her music fans and Palladio's Nashville fans.

"I think we both know we should maybe keep it under wraps," explained Pope. "You just don't want to put it on blast and then, God forbid, something happens and you're not together anymore and then it's awkward. So we just took time for ourselves and hung out for a bit."

With the end of the Nashville series, Palladio has already taken on another acting role, although he can't any details quite yet.

"I'm just about to go to eastern Europe to do a new show for a couple of months, which I can't actually talk about, but it's very exciting," he hinted. "It takes me away from Nashville which sucks, but I'm doing that. And then, I'm in the studio later this year, and working on the record that I've been slowly developing over the last couple of years."

Palladio sang on several of the The Music of Nashville albums, but has yet to release his own record, hindered more by time than ambition.

"The acting business keeps me busy, so it's always been this balancing act, really," said Palladio. "But finally, with the Nashville show at an end, sadly. It's bittersweet. But it means I'm not locked down for ten months of the year, and I can put a little bit more focus into making the music."

Pope just released "One More Red Light" from an upcoming new album. Download the single on iTunes.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Erika Goldring