The Voice Season 3 Winner Cassadee Pope on Her New 'Summer' Song

There is something memorable about summer songs, possibly because it's such an enjoyable time of our lives -- and for 2016, Cassadee Pope is adding her own personal musical touch to the season with the release of her Summer EP on June 3.

The Season 3 winner of The Voice wrote three of the songs, including the title track, and shot the Summer video in her native Florida at Clearwater Beach.

"I wanted to write a song that's basically relatable for anybody who’s been through a summer romance and make it more of a reminiscing song and less about what’s happening right now," Pope told Parade.com in this exclusive interview. "For me, summer romances, they can be powerful and they can be really passionate and beautiful, but they can end just as quickly as they began."

The collection, produced by Corey Crowder, also includes the songs "Piano," "Kisses At Airports," and "Alien," and has touches of nostalgia, tapping into feelings of both love and longing that are often associated with reflection. "Summer" will hit country radio on June 6. Listen for it, but first, read the rest of the interview with Pope:

You co-wrote three of the songs on the EP. How does that process work? 

It kind of depends on the co-writers. For these songs specifically: On "Summer," I was more of the lyrics and melody and Kelly Archer and Emily Shackelton did more of the music, and for "Alien," with Jon Nite and Ross Copperman, they did the music and that was basically me sitting there, telling them my life story and thinking out a cool way to put it into a song.

And on "Piano," I wrote with  Laura Veltz and Jimmy Robbins, and Jimmy did the music. Laura and I were mostly the melodies and lyrics. So it just depends on what everybody can offer in a session and what they’re good at.

What are some of your favorite summer songs?

I love "Ocean Avenue" by Yellowcard. That’s always been one of my favorites. Gosh, "Come On Over" by Shania Twain feels pretty summery to me, and, basically, any Zac Brown Band song feels pretty summery.

Your duet with Chris Young went to No. 1.  Do you remember what that felt like?

I do. It was just moment after moment, there are things that I just couldn’t believe. I remember one time in Nashville, a radio station started with the lyrics from the song and asked the fans to call in and tell him what song those lyrics were from to win a chance to come to The Opry and see Loretta Lynn,  and I was just like, "Wow, I’m part of a quiz question on the radio station." Things like that kept happening and still happen with "Think of You." I’m just so grateful that I got to be a part of that song. It totally exceeded my expectations as far as its success, so it’s just been amazing.

You’re extending your tour with Chris. What’s the best part or the worst part of being out on tour?

The best part is definitely the fans. I love being able to travel to all these different places and meet all my fans, and new fans, too. There are a lot of Chris Young fans that are new to my music, so I go out after every set and sign and take pictures.

The hardest part about touring is being away from family and friends. When you’re gone for a long time, it’s especially hard for me to remember to keep in touch with certain people because there’s so much going on on the road. Then you get home and you’re like, "I definitely need to be better at calling and texting.

Your early music career was varied. How did you arrive at your current style of country with a touch of rock and pop?

I actually sang country as a kid. So when I was 4 years old and started singing, it was country music. I covered Martina McBride, Faith Hill and Trisha Yearwood. So that was my upbringing, and then in middle school, I started getting into more of the rock stuff, like Blink 182, Foo Fighters, and even Avril Lavigne.

But I always listened to country. When I was 17, my main goal was to be in a band and travel the world. I ended up getting to do that with my old band Hey Monday. I got to see the world and learn how to tour, and the next thing I knew, I was on The Voice.  So it was just a crazy, crazy ride.

Do you think coming off of The Voice, even though you had prior experience, that you had more to prove to people because they felt that you didn’t pay your dues?

Absolutely. It was this weird mixture of that and, then also, people thinking that because I already had a little bit of a following, that I shouldn’t have been able to do The Voice.  It was an interesting mixture for me to have to deal with and get through.

I think by now, everybody knows I’ve had a very interesting journey, and I’ve been in the grind with four or five other guys in a 15-passenger van, travelling the country.  That’s not easy. I did that for a long time and the work was well worth it.

Having to prove myself again after The Voice, at times, was frustrating but I’m so glad that I did it that way because now I feel like I’ve gained everybody’s respect and it feels really good.

I really liked "Summer," but my second favorite song was "Kisses at Airports," which you didn’t write. So talk about the personal connection to a song you haven't written.

It’s the kind of song that when I first listened to it, I was in tears and it just really put things into perspective. I didn’t write it, but I wish I did. I’m on a plane pretty much every day of my life. So I know that I’ve gotten out of a car and said goodbye halfheartedly to my mom, my boyfriend, or my sister. You never know. You may never land and you would’ve not given them the goodbye they deserve.

I watched the Facebook video that you recently did, and you're wearing a little Peter Pan collar and look very sweet. It is a real contrast to your EP photo, which  is so much sexier.  What is your personal style?

My style is kind of all over the place. I’ve always loved the combination of leather and lace, but that’s probably just been something that I fall back on if I can’t really figure out what to wear. Today, I’m wearing this warm shirt with some jean shorts and heels. Yesterday, I was wearing jeans with a T-shirt.  So it just all kind of depends.  I think it’s a mixture  of leather and lace, mostly.

What do you do in your down time?

Things are so crazy right now, I love just to sit on the couch and watch some of my favorite shows. I’m really into Billions right now and I finished House of Cards.

But I also love to be outside. Living in Nashville, there are so many amazing places to see and the scenery is beautiful, like Radnor and a few other places to hike.

I just started kickboxing, so I’ve been doing that lately.  It’s been really fun, something different. I like to try and stay active unless I really need some couch time.