Sugarland - Lucy Hale Recruits Sugarland Star For Songwriting Help

Sugarland star Kristian Bush has given his actress pal Lucy Hale's music career a big boost by co-writing a handful of songs for her debut album.

The Pretty Little Liars star is currently gearing up to release a country album after signing a deal with label bosses at Hollywood Records.

The 23 year old tells the Associated Press, "(The album) is something I wanted to do way before Pretty Little Liars or anything. I grew up singing, and acting sort of came up along the way... (Recording) is a lot of weekends, it's a lot of long nights but I'm so passionate about it... I'm just really excited."

Hale has recruited the Stay hitmaker to collaborate with her in the studio, and Bush is convinced country fans will love her music.

He says, "I would drive around in the car with her... and she always flips the station to the country station and always sings along louder than the radio. I'm like, 'How do you know that song? I don't even know that song. I've just heard of (the band) Florida Georgia Line. How did you get that? Did you get an advance copy?' She just obsessively listens. Nothing creates a better writer or an artist than a great listener."

Hale is hoping the country music community will give her a chance to prove herself, insisting, "Once you get in the circle of country music, you're in and they will stay with you for life. It's just going over the hurdle of getting in there because they don't just let anyone in. Look at the careers. You don't make one album. You make 25 albums. They're just behind your back always."