"Once you've been through hell you never forget what the flames feel like."

"Some people arn't meant to be understood"

"Always remember, God made you just the way he wanted you, and that should be good enough for anyone."

"You could put me in a football stadium full of guys, and I'd pick the wrong one!"

"Some roads seem long and this one was paved with a lot of prayers, some tears and a lot of laughter."

"Did you know that the human head weighs 8 pounds? Hey Jerry, did you know that my neighbor has 3 rabbits?"

"First of all I need to thank God for always being my best friend."

"If it wasn't for mom, I wouldn't be living Every Little Girls Dream"

"The beauty on the inside is what counts"

"75% of me is grateful and thanks the Lord, the other 25%, prays that it sticks around!"

"Love yourself and be kind to those around you..."

"It's got a purple belly."

"There's my mom! Aaah! Isn't she soo CUTE! I love my mom."

"We should focus our energy on something else, like helping the kids of the world not carry guns to school."

"I want to thank my fans, whom I refer to as friends. You are the reason I do what I do. I hope I don't let you down. I promise I will always give you my best."

"Look Mom, I'm wearing a dress!"

"Someones gonna send pictures to my Mom and she's gonna say 'don't you have enough money to cut your bangs?'"

" I wish I could personally thank all of those who stuck by me no matter what. If I gained 10 lbs or lost 10 lbs, if my clothes were in style or out of style, whether I sold 20,000 records or 20- those of you who stood by me, I want to thank you."

"I dont think i can do a german accent, listen to y 107 or no more schitezel for you!"

"Charlie Chase better watch his back because paybacks are a bummer! I cant believe you!"

"What stood between me and my dream...my weight and now to be called sexy, it bothers me."

"Jo Dee? Jo Dee Marie? Why are the back woods on fire?!"

"I Love You Guys!"

"From the wise, wise words of charlie daniels, it's not how many times you get knocked down, it's how many times you get back up that counts"

"You can't buy the album yet, but start savin! all you kids out there, hahaha, start saving a quarter a week, and by the time it comes out......hahaha, sorry, now they have restrained me"

"I was ridiculed for my clothes, and weight, and (the) scar," she recalls. "These are people who I considered close to me, and when that happened, I was not just nauseated. It was like my best friend just threw sand in my eyes. I felt like everyone that looked at me was like, 'There's that fat little girl that doesn't know how to dress, with the scar on her stomach.' I just felt that way. It was very devastating, and it broke my heart."

"Some things I didn't get, until it slapped me in the face"

"I don't wanna waste money on $25 duct tape when you can buy the same duct tape, non-name brand, for $20," she says.

"Or we can use (something) one more time before we get more. Dry ice can last for more than one day. I had a guy tell me you have to get dry ice and then throw it away, and dry ice, and then throw it away, every day. Well, dry ice is approximately - what? - $100 per chunk? I'm like, 'Get a cooler. Let's carry it from city to city and see how many days it lasts before we have to get more.' And we did. And sometimes it lasts for three days."

"I guess anybody that knows me would say it’s pretty hard for me to stay in one spot. I always ‘get down’ and dance around in my shows"

"Well, when I met Tim we were just a couple of kids kicking around Nashville. It was long before ‘Indian Outlaw’ hit. Just two kids looking for a record deal. We became friends and have remained friends through the years. It was exciting for Tim to produce my first album, but what was more exciting, was to watch Tim go from the kid I used to know, to the superstar he is today!"

[Wise words from Jo Dee's Mom, Mary]"Well, we have to find happiness inside instead of with everything we've got around us."

[on the little giggle heard at the beginning of "If Not You"]"I was just goofing around in the studio and they left it in because they thought it was cute," she explains. "I don't mind if my laugh becomes my trademark. It beats cleavage or the midriff, only because my midriff is pretty scary."

"I'm really excited about That's The Way. It would be cool for it to have the same success as Faith's song. There's been some discussion down here about whether That's The Way is pop or country, but that's not going to change what I am. I'll always be country. Dolly Parton has been on the pop charts so it's not really about swapping formats. It's just that more people are listening to your songs."

[on her 2 best new artist awards]"Yeah, it was like who is this country bumpkin"

[on duet partner Tim McGraw in Bring On The Rain] "Tim and I have been friends since before either one of us ever had a record deal," she says. "He's produced all of my albums. For years I've wanted to sing something with him, but he's got his life long duet partner in Faith Hill. When he heard Bring On The Rain, which is about finding hope in the darkest hour, he loved it so much that he wanted to sing on it with me. He's like a brother so it would have been weird to do a love song together."

My shows are pretty exhausting. There's no 'Hey, I'm a beauty queen up here'. It's all about entertaining and having fun with the audience. It doesn't matter what it looks like when I walk on stage. I always come off looking like I just crawled out of a lake. I'm sweating, my make-up is running…it's gross but it's fun."

"I have a difficult time with limousines and private planes and things like that. It makes me feel very unapproachable. And I always say, 'If you begin to believe that you're more than what God made you, then you have nothing left to hold on to."

"I was six years old singing a song called 'Susan's Birthday Holiday,' doing a tap dance and loved it. I just loved it, loved to get up there"

"I thought, 'Oh yeah! Let's go to Nashville and be a singer!' I thought I was the only one down there doing that, you know? There's 50,000 incredible singers in Nashville,"

[on almost goin bankrupt] "There was nothing left. Nothing left except a piece of paper that would give me, you know, protection as far as bankruptcy. And I said, 'Man, that's so much like quitting. There's got to be another way.' And I said, 'Let's meet again in a couple weeks and, you know, lets see if something happens,'"

[from a CBS2 article...quote on the topic of her mom]"Did you call her up and say, 'Mom ... ?" Phillips asked Messina. "Call her up? I moved her down to Nashville!" she said.

[on the CMA Best Female Vocalist Nomination (1999)]"First of all, I'm not worthy to be in that category. But to be sitting there with Faith Hill and all these people who I'm such a fan of, it's like, 'Look! My name is right there with theirs!' So that's pretty cool,"

[on relationships...*note* this is PRE-DON!]"Are you kidding me? I'm living them right now, sister!" said Jodi. "I just have one bad romance after another."

[on relationships again...still PRE DON! Every quote on relationships on this page is PRE DON] "My mother is like, 'You don't need it. Boys are nothing but trouble.' And she's right!"

[quip about Jo Dee by Edmonton Sun] "Jo Dee Messina has more zip than a pair of jeans before button-flies."

[talking about hockey]"Woo hoooo! I grew up in Boston. Bruuuins!"

[now onto ice skating...] "There's no hockey here," she gripes about sunny Nashville. "These people don't even know how to ice skate!" she laughs.

[and now onto skiing...] "I haven't been skiing since I moved to Nashville, either. It's been about six years. I got a brand-new pair of Elan skis. They're probably warped by now!"

[Jo Dee dressed as a cow for Reba's Halloween party a few years ago...and while she wasn't mooing at people she was harassing Dorothy] "There was a girl dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. I hung out with her all night, yelling, `You're not in Kansas any more!' "

[on the You Wanna Make Somethin Of It Video] "Woooooo! Drivin' on an airplane, riding motorcycles. Wait till you see it. You'll love it!"

[still talkin about that video] "I was kind of a puppet and a puppet master. I was a puppet that didn't move when she didn't want to move."

"Whatever you decide to do, really try to be the best at it. Try to prove yourself instead of knocking everybody else down around you."

[2 years ago..]"Confidence is definitely not a word that I would use in describing myself," said Messina, 29. "I'm fashion illiterate. I don't see myself as glamorous."

"There's never a day that goes by that I don't think, 'I got to work, I got to work',"

And she offers advice to a promiscuous teenager on Angeline. "Someone did a survey, and they said 70 per cent of my fans are 25 and under," Messina said. "Angeline is like a big sister going, 'OK, you're in this, but I want you to know this isn't the real thing. This is not as good as it gets'."

"Between the first and the second album, all I felt was pressure," she said. "I kept thinking, 'I got to get it done, I got to get it done, I got to get food on the table.' ... Since we got five singles out of the I'm Alright album, it gave me more time without that pressure."

"It's just become a big joke that I never take a day off," she said. "There's never a point where you can say, 'OK, it's smooth sailing now.'

"If you want something, you've got to work for it. I just keep working."

[on Shania]"After that, I hit her up for tickets for the next day. She was playin' in L.A.," Messina says. "She gave me tickets to her show and security guards came up to me in the middle of the show and they're like, 'Miss Messina,' and I'm lookin' at my tickets going, 'I think this is the right seat.' I thought I was gonna get thrown out, and they're like, 'Shania wants to see you after the show.' I was like, 'You are kidding me! Me? Oh my gosh!' I couldn't believe it and she did, she brought me backstage and she's just like, 'Oh, I'm so happy for you' and I'm like, 'You just blow me away!' I just admire her so much."

[on choosing her songs]"I think I look for things that I can relate to, you know, things that I've either been through, or am going through, or something that I'm passionate about. A lot of the stuff I listen to will be important to my live show. People say that there is a lot of tempo on this record. I think a lot of that has to do with me spending such a great deal of time performing, that's where I spend the majority of my time. So when I listen to songs, I think of how it would be to perform it. And so it has to fit that musically and groove-wise, and it definitely has to say something that I can relate to."

[on where she gets her spunk from]"My dad! He is very spunky. My dad is a motivator. He has always been involved in athletics and coaching, real motivating kinds of jobs. I get it from him. I also get some of it from Mr. Alderman who I also grew up with. Mr. Alderman was always wicked funny. He was always goofing around. He was like a dad to me and was around my whole life."

[on the bad relationship that ended up in the writing of No Time For Tears]"The song is about a really bad relationship I was in. My tour manager said 'Look, you don't even smile anymore. You don't have time to be so down in the dumps."

[still talking about that same relationship]"He wasn't good for nothing, he was at least good for a song."

[on honesty]"Someone said to me, ‘As much as you give away of yourself in your music, do you worry about being too honest?’ And you know, I don’t think you can be too honest. When you’ve been hurt or have been through some rough experiences, you don’t want someone else to go through it. It’s awful…and if by being honest about a broken heart or whatever, you can maybe keep someone else from making that mistake, who wouldn’t?"

"To me, it’s all life…some of it is hard and you have to get through it; some of it is sweet and you should enjoy it. Don’t miss that good stuff!"

"I want teenagers to hear ‘These Are The Days’, and understand this time in their lives is the best."

"So many of my fans are under 25 or 26. To see a 16-year old out in the audience with a guy who’s yelling at her or pulling on her arm, that breaks my heart, because you know at that age, you don’t necessarily know there’s anything else. I’ve been there. I’ve dated the jerk and I’ve got my heart broken. But you know what? You don’t have to accept being treated like that. Bottomline: Angelene may know the guy’s a jerk, but her attitude is ‘he’s my jerk’ because she doesn’t know there’s anything else out there. Maybe this song can show people who’re in it so they see it — and then they can find something better, because nobody deserves that."

"Country radio and the fans reached out to me and helped me at a difficult time. They made the difference in my life. I like the idea that I can give some of that back! Now that things aren’t in such a lowdown state, I’m able to help other people more. Since it’s not just about keeping my head above water, I’m able to reach out to help others. And you know what? Of all the stuff that’s happened to me over the last couple years, that’s what I live for: being able to help everybody else. As long as I’ve got my songs to sing and a roof over my head and I’m able to do things for others, then I’m complete."

"Music has always effected me – it gives me energy and helps me keep going."

[on her success after hardships]"So much has happened! My career is working better than ever and my personal life is in a more secure place. But I had to go through Hell to get there,"

"Once you've been burned, you never forget that. It also comes with living and learning. And I think my albums seem to reflect where I am in my life, because I need to relate to my songs on that level."

"I have a real problem with being honest... I can't not be! I was raised in a very connected community, where everyone was approachable and friendly. Everyone was honest -- so I have a difficult time with things that aren't real. That's just the way I was raised, and it's who I am."

"It's all life -- and you can't take anything for granted. All you can do is keep working, keep believing and be grateful that you can use those trials to put back into the music."

"These songs are very survival-oriented. As I sing 'em and as people hear 'em, it's a strength thing that you hear in my music. When I hear these songs, they actually change my mood -- when I'm down, I listen to 'I'm Alright' and the energy just lifts me up, then the lyric carries me along.

"To me, the songs have to say something I can relate to or would actually say. I have to be able to represent it and I have to be able to feel it. Otherwise, I'm not doing myself or the song any justice."

"Hey, I like people. My character is to give... It's not about being a success in the music business, it's about doing for others and giving of one's self. When I'm out there and people say my songs touch them, help them, maybe change their life, that's why I do it! It gives the music a purpose and me a reason for doing this. My Mom's the same way. So you could say I get it from her."

"I've always been a very passionate emotional person, and that's what country music was. I could relate a lot better to 'Leavin' On Your Mind' than I could to 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot,' because it was more about how people live their lives."

"To me, that's what it's about; getting out there and living life."

[how Byron found her...and everything leading up to it]"I was hanging out at the Pink Elephant, where they had these talent contests where you could win money -- and I needed money," Messina recalls fondly. "So, I won the Grand Prize and part of the deal was getting to sing on this live radio show broadcast from Kentucky. I went up there and did pretty well, so they made me a regular. I was singing on the show one night, when they told me I had a phone call. This guy says he's a producer and he wants to get together. It's December 19th and I'm going home the next day, because I'd missed Christmas with my family the year before and it about killed me, so I really wasn't in the mood for the runaround again. I was thinking, 'Oh, great, now I gotta go meet with this guy!' He starts in with 'You got a little Dolly in your voice, and a little Reba.' He's running down all his plans: make a demo, shop it to a couple labels, maybe do a showcase. Finally, I said, 'Hey! That's great... but I don't have any money,' figuring that would be the end of it, because it's always about that. He looked at me like I was nuts! He said, 'I don't want your money...' and we went down in the basement of this publishing company he was with and actually put some stuff on tape."

"I've been doing 'Even God Must Get The Blues' live for over two years. It always gets a big response. I remember a woman came through my autograph line shaking and crying. She said to me, 'I need that song. I need to get it.' It was because of the fans and the massive impact it had on them that I pushed to put it on the album."

"I surrounded myself with realists while I'm busy dreaming. They find the "real" way to make my dreams happen,"

"Even after the single was out and doing well, I was still insistent on doing radio visits. I'm always willing to work."

"Everything in life is a privilege, it's not a right," she believes. "Radio doesn't have to play my records. When they do, you bet damn well I'm grateful. Nobody owes me anything. I'm privileged to have a record on the radio, but it's not like I have a right to have it on there just because I'm a signed artist. I'll always believe that."

"I'm a listener. She[Dottie West & Lesson In Leavin] was a very strong, very independent woman. It's like my salute to her to say you were a superstar. She was a survivor while she was here. It makes me proud to sing that song."

[on the 9-11 Tragedy]"I think that we're all changed by the events that happened on September 11 and the events that happened everyday since then. And we're all afraid of what's about to happen or what's going to happen 'cause we don't know when, where why or how..."

"When we go into this new record I guess it's gonna have an effect on what we're gonna do, what songs hit home more. But, we'll have to see. I don't think it's gonna be a conscious effort, 'Hey we should make this record because of what's going on.' I think we're just gonna make the best record we know how and really record songs that move us and it may just be a different kind of song that moves us. I don't know, we haven't found the songs yet."

[on her confident and energetic lyrics]"It's always been the kind of music I've sung,"

[on looks]"It's hip to be square,"

"When I sing about disappointment, I’m singing about what I know. As a preformer I can't 'sell' it if I don't get it"

"It’s all about the fans, man. They moved mountains on my behalf and I’ll never forget that."

[on coming to Nashville]"I knew nothing , nothing about the tons of talent there, and it’s probably a good thing I didn’t or I wouldn’t have come,"

"I don’t give up easily,"

"It's all life -- and you can't take anything for granted. All you can do is keep working, keep believing and be grateful that you can use those trials to put back into the music."

"These songs are very survival-oriented. As I sing 'em and as people hear 'em, it's a strength thing that you hear in my music. When I hear these songs, they actually change my mood -- when I'm down, I listen to 'I'm Alright' and the energy just lifts me up, then the lyric carries me along."

“My favorite thing to do is hang around with people I love. I could be doing nothing – just as long as I’m with people I care about.”

“There was a guy named L.J. Combe in my kindergarten class. We were going to the lunch room to wait for the bus, and he gave me a kiss!”

"Wynonna, Dolly and Reba all made my music possible. I'm their biggest fan. I can't believe how supportive they are of other women."

"I mean, I want everyone to like me."

``People may think what I've accomplished makes me an overnight success,but it's been a seven-year night. It's been slow, but our fan base has proven very, very loyal.''

[on Tim McGraw]``I thank him every day for having a career. He fought for me from the beginning just to get a record deal and has always been a huge part of the creative process. He brings really fresh ideas to the table. We were friends before we ever started working together, so now it's like old home week whenever we go into the studio.''

``But that's what's so great about the audiences. Having them be so excited and happy to be there makes things a lot easier for me to make things easier for them.''

[on Cyndi Thompson]"Cyndi's my girl. I take really good care of her. I told her if she has any problems with the boys to just let me know. We started off with just us and Rascal Flatts. That went really well and so we asked them back for the fall portion of the tour. Then we were introduced to Cyndi and I thought it would be really cool to have that kind of broad span of styles. I love it because the styles are different. My style is kind of rockin' and the boys are kind of funky, and Cyndi has that new country sound. We cover a lot of bases with this show."

[about ever giving up her dream career] "That wasn't an option for me. It is all I know and music is all I do. We just had to keep going my team was still there and everything was still going so I never thought I could quit."

"I hope our fans know we mean it when we say we love doing what we do for a living. The fact they show up for our shows makes it possible for us and we are so grateful. We love it so much. I can only compare it to if I wasn't a singer; it would be like eating a hot fudge sundae every day. We have a great life and we enjoy every minute of it."

"Oh my God! We were in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. We were supposed to leave at 10 at night and get into Nashville at 8 the next morning. And the bus, we went to start it, and it just clicked. We were like, 'Oh no.' So we sat up all night long. I think the last time I looked at the clock was like 3:30 and I was so tired. A couple hours later I heard it start but you know what? It's par for the course. It's part of the job."

"The Kinleys? Awesome! Love them! And yeah, I was like, 'I want to be on the radio with those guys!' And Lee Ann Womack came out. And just awesome talent! So yeah, I was a bit worried because there was such great new talent coming out."

"It's so funny. I still worry. Every song is a new song, and I know from past experience with 'Heads Carolina' doing wonderfully and 'You're Not in Kansas Anymore' doing great, and then all of a sudden we stalled with 'Make Something of It.' So I know that radio doesn't have to play every record you put out there, so there is a bit of concern with each record that goes out, and a great deal of appreciation when they do decide to play it."

[how she describes her music]"Rockin' country! It's not pop, it's not AC, it's just real rockin' country music. It's real heavy on the guitars and real driven and uptempo. Even the ballads have almost a rock feel to them."

[on Dottie West and L.I.L] "Dottie West was somebody that I truly admired. She was just, man, she was such a fighter. She lost everything she had because her heart was too big. She gave and gave and gave and gave to everyone else, and when it came time to help herself, she didn't have anything left, emotionally, financially.When we cut 'Lesson in Leavin',' we didn't try and cut it like she did. I said, 'No way. Those are just too big of shoes for me to try to fill.' Actually, Tim McGraw had the total creativity on that song, and he made it into something that he said was a Jo Dee song."

"We're very, very much alike, very passionate about things and just love the fire out of the music. So we just clicked, became friends, hung out, and when I had a deal with RCA, Tim had said at one point, 'You have to promise you'll remember me when you make it big-time,' and I was like, 'Aw, no problem, man. This is going to be great.' And I lost my deal with RCA. Then, boom, 'Indian Outlaw' came out. 'Don't Take the Girl' was released. Golly. His career just took off and he kind of put in a good word for me over at Curb.He got me backstage at Fan Fair where I kind of snagged one of the record executives there at the label, and the rest is history."

"Oh my gosh! We're slammed! And I love it! If I wasn't busy I'd be bored!"

[on her sponsor JERZEES]“I’m excited to have a great company like JERZEES® as the presenting sponsor of my tour,” stated performer Jo Dee Messina. “Without my fans, I wouldn’t be here and without its loyal customers, JERZEES® wouldn’t be a successful company. JERZEES® and I have a lot in common, and I’m glad to be associated with a company that values real people and their families as much as I do.”

[on running in the Susan Komen Race for the Cure]"I'm so thrilled to be participating in this year's National Race for the Cure. I'm accustomed to contributing a song or a performance to a worthwhile cause from time to time, but I knew that for the fight against breast cancer, I had to do more. I'm hoping that by actually running the 5K and performing in concert after the Race, I'll be helping in some small way to bring the Komen Foundation closer to their goal."

[on when Don proposed]“He proposed to me on a playground. It was at night and he had a path lit with candles to this playground. It was so fitting because I’m an eternal child.”

[on wedding plans]“We’re not looking at wedding gowns and napkins yet; we’re looking at lighting rigs and sound equipment,”

[on where she gets her third trait from (energy-dad, happiness-mom)]''Stubborn. That's me: happy, energetic and stubborn. I remember my grandmother actually getting mad that her leg had swollen up too badly for her to walk back home.''

[on her First #1]''Is that cool or what? My first No. 1 record. It's the most overwhelming thing, to know that so many people are behind you. I just sang it. The people who requested it and the radio stations that played it deserve all of the credit.''