Just got off the phone with Kellie Pickler...

...and she was just as sweet to speak with as I'd hoped, a very nice "Small Town Girl."

The former "American Idol" finalist and I spoke for about 15 minutes in anticipation of the Hudson Valley Country Fest on Sept. 14th, when she and Trace Adkins will be the headliners of the concert at Fishkill's Dutchess Stadium.

"In my shows, I do songs from my first album," Kellie told me, "and I’ve actually added songs from my new album, ones that people haven’t heard before."

We chatted about everything from touring with Trace ("He's so talented and he's so amazing") to that forthcoming sophomore CD ("It's got the whole nine yards") to even her support of the AARP ("I just love old people").

She was very charming and honest, and a pleasure to interview.

And along the way, I was able to ask Kellie a question submitted by a "Sean's Space" reader, which Kellie answered.

I'll be posting Kellie's answer to the reader's query — thanks, by the way, to all of you who e-mailed me questions for Kellie — over the weekend, so be sure to check back and see if yours was the one she answered!