Aliana Lohan on new music, learning from sister Lindsay and more

Aliana Lohan is back -- and, in her words, "it's been a long time coming."

The singer, who grew up in the public eye as Lindsay Lohan's sister and appeared on the 2008 reality show, "Living Lohan" at age 13, recently released her first song in years, "Long Way Down," which effectively serves as a relaunch to her music career. It comes after a decade or so of navigating life away from much of show business in an effort to find out who she was, giving her ample material for her upcoming album.

"It's just [about] learning life experiences," she told AOL during a recent sit-down interview. "I listen to a lot of people and what they have to say. I wont ever change, but things change around you and you just have to role with the punches. I'm grateful for every experience, because that's molded me who I am now, today. I'm grateful for that, because I have so much to write about and so much to say."

"I've been in the studio writing for a while, just figuring out what I really wanted to say to people," she added.

Before refocusing her efforts on music, though, Lohan lived in South Korea for nearly two years in a model apartment, learning the world of fashion, making friends and proving herself in an industry that rewards hard work.

"I was going by my first name, because I just wanted people to see me for me and my work ethic," she told AOL of her decision not to use her last name at the time.

Lohan takes inspiration from a slew of different artists and genres, noting that she'd describe the sound of her new music as "pop-rock." With a music video on its way, an album due out next year and a possible appearance on MTV's "Lindsay Lohan's Beach House," Aliana has a lot in the pipeline.

When we asked what she learned from her older sister's experience in the music industry (Lindsay released two albums between 2004 and 2005), Aliana credited her honesty in her music as the one thing she remembers most about that time.

"She's so honest with her fans and I think that's what I learned from my sister the most," she said. "[It's important] to be honest with people, because we're not different. We're equal. We all go through ups and downs in life and we just gotta be there for each other."

The singer, who released a Christmas album back in 2006 and a one-off single, "All The Way Around," in 2008, has also learned a lot from the rest of her family: Between her manager mother, Dina, and her model brothers, Cody and Dakota, Aliana's loved ones have a ton of experience navigating show business and life in general.

"We're a close family. I was raised by a single mother, I grew up on Long Island and still visit my mother. We're very close. My mother raised us to be very grateful and remain very humble for everything that we have," she explained. "I've been through a lot with her by my side, and she's everything to me. My brothers are just the sweetest men in the world. They're just so sensitive and caring to women and understanding. That just showed me how other men should treat women or women should treat men. I'm so grateful for my family."

Listen to "Long Way Down" here, and watch our full interview with Aliana Lohan at the top of the page.