Jessie James Decker: 'I'm a country girl who took a wrong turn'

Jessie James Decker never intended to be a pop artist.

The 28-year-old singer released her self-titled debut album in 2009 with the help of producer L.A. Reid.. The record was moderately successful, with its lead single Wanted reaching number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but Jessie was disappointed that it ended up with such a pop sound, because she had wanted to make a country record.

"You know what’s funny, it wasn’t my intention to be that pop,” Jessie told Nash Country Daily. "I started coming to Nashville when I was 15, and it was my dream to be the next Shania Twain. I loved country music. I grew up in yodelling contests, it was my whole world.

"Then all of a sudden my music kind of got out there and all these pop labels heard about me. I remember it being bittersweet. It was exciting, but at the same time I was like, ‘But I want to be here. I’m a little Georgia girl. I don’t know how to deal with the pop stuff.’ "

Jessie is now working on her next album, which follows the release of single Lights Down Low last August (15). Discussing her aim with the record, Jessie says she is finally happy with her sound.

"I feel like my music now is exactly how I want to be portrayed and who I am," she continued. "I really hope people don’t think that I just woke up one day and decided I’m going to be a country singer. I get so offended because it’s so far from the truth. I’ve been doing this for years and this is my heart and soul. I just had a little bit of a wrong turn. I’m a country girl."

Mother-of-two Jessie has also managed to change the public perception of herself since she arrived on the music scene. She admits she struggled to win over female fans with her sexy image, and decided to star alongside husband Eric Decker in a E! reality show in a bid to change the way women perceived her.

"I felt like this (the show) would be a way for girls to get to know me and know that I might have a sexy image but I am just not like that,” she said. “I am not the girl that’s gonna take your boyfriend or be a mean girl. I’m such a girls’ girl and I just want to help people and inspire other women and build confidence in girls."