‘The Voice’ Alum Cassadee Pope on Being a Woman in Country Music: ‘It’s Intense’

Cassadee Pope is proud to be a woman in country music, and not just because of the music she is making. The Season 3 winner of The Voice is honored to call some of her fellow reigning female artists, including Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini and Carly Pearce, among her closest friends.

“It’s intense,” Pope told PopCulture.com. “I mean we are really, really there for each other, supporting each other. I think we know there’s only so much that we can do to change things, so we just need to focus on those areas. We’re touring a lot, and we’re bringing each other out the most that we can. The rest of it, I feel like all of us are trying to put teams together that really understand the importance of us being heard, so all of us have our teams on it as well.

“We’re just keeping our heads down and doing our thing,” she continued. “I feel like that’s the approach I’ve always taken, but I think more now than ever, we’re just focused on making our music and being authentic and supporting each other. ‘Cause if we’re setting that example and we’re able to be there for each other and root for each other without being too competitive to where we don’t want to even like pay attention, I think that encourages everybody else to do the same. I hope.”

The country music industry isn’t the only intense thing Pope has going for her. The singer is also preparing for her first USO Tour, although she has no clue where she is going.

“I have a lot of festivals this summer,” said Pope. “It’s festival season, so pretty much every weekend I’m going out. I have a big USO tour coming up. No idea where I’m going, so it’s pretty intense, I think. I’m so excited for that, and I’m writing a lot. I’ve gotten back into the writing process.

“I stopped for a minute because writing Stages was so intense, and sort of draining in a way, so now I feel refreshed,” she continued. “I feel ready to get those juices flowing again, so I’m writing whenever I’m home as well.”

The 29-year-old just released “FYI” from Stages, which shows a side of Pope she hadn’t really shared with her fans, until now.

“It’s so fun,” Pope said. “The song itself is really snarky. It’s sort of witty and spiteful. It’s a lyric that I was really nervous to release because it shows a side of me that not a lot of people have seen, but I love that song. I have a lot of fun performing it and it’s actually been streaming really heavily, so I thought I want to give this song its own moment. We put together a lyric video that was super nostalgic. It’s all 90’s inspired, so there’s a lot of Saved by the Bell references in there.

“There’s a lot of Real World references in there,” she added. “It’s just a really fun video that sorta takes the song out of what it’s about and sort of takes people back to the 90s, but also gives it its own spotlight.”

Photo Credit: Getty images/Erika Goldring