It's really hard to find a love song that is real. That's when you really strike a chord with somebody, when you dig in deep and grab a hold.
I have been writing songs since I was 9 years old, so writing has and always will be my first love and passion.
If I had to pick one song for me that sort of quintessentially summed me up, it would be 'Angel.' Without fail, I absolutely love singing it.
Playing clubs is the ultimate - you see the faces; you hear the 'clicking' glasses - I love all that atmosphere and seeing people's mouths singing the words to the songs.
I listen to all kinds of songs. There's something to be learned from every type of music and from the one making it, whether it's pop or jazz or hip-hop.
My dream artist to play at prom would be Frank Ocean. 'Thinking Of You' is one of my favorite songs. He makes really sweet music for slow dancing at prom.
I'm very hands on with my music - I do all the artwork and everything myself - and the songs I write aren't necessarily the most commercial.
Some say because music is as much about personal expression as listening pleasure, sharing is integral to why songs have value in the first place.
One of the reasons I didn't ever pursue a career - in the music world if you're black or mixed, you need to be able to belt a song or else you're not a singer, you know?
There aren't reasons why you like this song or this piece of music, or don't like it. It's just, it's either right or wrong, you know?
Sometimes you have trouble because someone 'likes' your music so much. They follow you around for hours singing little bits of the songs, or just freaking out.
I started to work up in my old bedroom, playing, writing songs, and it somehow came to me that I could introduce soul music. Nobody seemed to be doing that.
I was totally involved in Bobby's World from the time we started the idea to sitting with the artists on how he would look, to the script meetings, the music, the lyrics, the songs.
They're always so serious, the orchestras, you know? It's always a fun contrast of that song and the genre of music. And me.
If you're in a bar and a certain song comes on and the vibe is just different, it evokes the kinds of things that you want to feel, and if music can do that it's a very special thing.
Presented with a song like Exit Music, It's impossible to know what to add without actually making it worse. How can you play along when It's already there?
The type of music I like to sing is really those classic songs, those Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion, Frank Sinatra, classics.
Pop music thrives on repetition. You know a song's a hit when you've heard it so often that you'll be happy never to hear it again.
If you write songs and if you write music that's very sincere and very honest, it's pop music, but it is pop music with a lot of honesty and a lot of heart.
I've written poetry since I was in the first grade, and it wasn't until I was a little bit older that I realized poetry could be put to music and become a song.
Knowing what I knew about Russia, as much as I loved the music and was fascinated by the songs and the whole idea of it, I knew it would be a very lengthy and frustrating process.
