For Lee Brice, country music is personal. some of the star's biggest hits have been ripped from the pages of his life -- take the 2014 No. 1 "I Don't Dance," written with his wife Sara in mind, for example -- and the lives of others, such as with 2013's "I Drive Your Truck," inspired by a father whose Army member son was killed in Afghanistan.

Even his recent hit, "I Hope You're Happy Now," a duet with Carly Pearce, feels real to Brice. The singer admits he's been the heartbroken more times than he's been the heartbreaker, so he's got plenty to tap into when he sings that song, even if he didn't write it.

So, how does Brice define country music? Read on, as he explains in his own words.

Oh, man ... It's our life. It's my life. It's, anybody who sings it, it's theirs, too.

Our stories, our history, our past, our family -- what we want, what we care about, what we love -- and it's all over every song, you know? It's the stories of our life.

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