Toby Keith is no longer asking How Do You Like Me Now? -- he doesn't care because he's at the top and the country world has to like him now.

"I never could run with the big boys because the industry wouldn't accept what I did as real or something, but we're having our way now. It's happenin' for me," Keith tells Sun Country during a phone interview.

Talking to this Oklahoma native is refreshing. Keith doesn't pull any punches -- he doesn't have to. With hard work and determination, he bucked the Nashville system and earned every bit of gloating he may indulge in.

While he sits at the top of the charts now with sassy hits such as How Do You Like Me Now?, I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight and I Wanna Talk About Me, it wasn't that long ago he was dropped by his label.

"I was dropped by a label two years ago. They let me walk out of there with the album of the year," says Keith, whose CD, How Do You Like Me Now?, won a 2001 American Country Music Award.

"I never compromised and it's very sweet to know I was right and everyone else was wrong and that makes me just gush."

The everyone he refers to, are the nine industry honchos he met with after losing his original record deal.

"They were meetings of respect ... but nobody even asked me to play one song. It shows you how little the industry really thought of Toby Keith."

And now it's payback.

"It's revenge every day, if there's any revenge to be had. I'm kicking their ass from the top here. I'm standing up here lookin' down on them now.

"I had my own mountain to climb and mine was the only one that had any gold in it. You have to deal with me now, because I AM part of the business," he says about those who told him thanks, but no thanks.

Keith's How Do You Like Me Now? and his new CD, Pull My Chain, has helped put his new label, DreamWorks, on the map.

He says they understood How Do You Like Me Now? wasn't putting women down. Others claimed the song said things that shouldn't be said to women -- the gender that, at the time, made up the majority of country music purchasers.

"Women loved it because it was a breath of fresh air. You have to let women think for themselves and let listeners think for themselves.

And while I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight has been nicknamed The Quickie Song, Keith says it was written with a deeper meaning about the barrier between the sexes and not necessarily just singing the praises of a one-night stand.

So how would this father of two daughters -- Shelley, 20, and Krystal, 15, -- like some guy singing I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight to his girls?

"My girls know right from wrong, so I'm not too worried about that," chuckles Keith, who also has a four-year-old son Stelen.

"They got a rule. Being a celebrity, they have to date a month before bringing someone home to come meet dad. That keeps the riff-raff down."

Besides, once those guys meet Keith, it's easy for the 6-ft.,-4 ex-football player to make the suitors squirm if he so chooses.

"Yeah, they think they're coming to meet a singer and they walk in and I'm in the gym with a big rack of weight going up ... they get intimidated."

Be prepared to see a little more of Keith in the upcoming months.

The double-nominee will be attending the Nov. 7 Country Music Academy awards -- he's up for male artist and How Do You Like Me Now? is up for song of the year.

"How Do You Like Me Now? really changed my career, so I'd be happy if it won. I'd love to get male but it's the toughest category."

But the prestigious CMA Awards won't be his only TV appearances. Of course, there are the long-distance commercials with Terry Bradshaw and Mike Piazza, but Keith will also star as himself on Touched By an Angel and the sitcom Yes Dear.

Columbia Tri-star also offered him his own sitcom, but it looks like he'll be turning it down.

"The downside is they have to tie you up from Aug. 1 to Feb. 25 and the heart of my touring season is June to Oct. 30. That's when I make my great big money, so it doesn't make sense. Someday, I'd like to take a stab at something like that."

So, while all is looking rosy for Keith now, he admits it was discouraging at times. But, he never let it get him down -- even when he was without a label.

"I was so confident in what I was doing and I have a strong spiritual belief. It was a peaceful time for me, believe it or not.

"I get hectic and blow out, and cross out, and short out on the electric side sometimes, but it was best for me to move on and I knew somebody was going to sign me," he admits.

Besides, the money was good.

"I always managed to do well enough to keep myself to where I couldn't afford to do anything else, because in the entertainment business the money you make if you're movin' along even at a turtle's pace is better than what a doctor makes ... "

Keith hopes to tour in Canada next year and maybe get in some trout fishing.