I went from elementary school to proper training, operatic training, and I went on to the Motown University and learned a lot of things from some wonderful people.
I've always loved going to see Broadway shows. I've seen 'em all: Rent, Chorus Line, Cats, West Side Story, Guys & Dolls, Wicked, you name it!
We're so quick to go to make things black and white, and to put things in their box. But everything is this mixture - and that's what this world is - is this blend of different things.
I started out in the Chabad movement, and I started pretty closed up, with the idea of there being that 'this is it.' I bought into that fully. I really explored in depth the Chabad ideology.
I feel there's a lot of anti-Israel sentiment in the world and a lot of ignorance about what Israel is and does. But it's not for me to speak on Israel's behalf.
The way I teach people to sing... I have them talk the lyric out until it sounds like something they really believe, like an actor with a monologue.
Rosemary was a little nervous about going onstage, but she went on with us. I saw her at a party, and a couple of months later they called me about doing the act.
I realized that becoming a doctor, I can only help a small community. But by becoming a politician, I can help my whole country.
I do not even hate the Talib who shot me. Even if there was a gun in my hand and he stands in front of me, I would not shoot him.
I'm not becoming western; I am still following my Pashtun culture, and I'm wearing a shalvar kamiz, a dupatta on my head.
On the day when I was shot, and on the next day, people raised the banners of 'I am Malala'. They did not say 'I am Taliban.'
When I was young I used to listen to other people and to try and understand what they thought and where they were coming from. I listened and didn't speak.
I took temp jobs, recorded a demo in the evenings and eventually shopped a record deal. All I knew was that I wanted to write songs; thankfully, I also got to sing them.
Romania, which had the worst dictator in Eastern Europe, Ceausescu, he was a darling of the West. The United States and Britain loved him. He was supported until the last minute.
I remember attaching a wire clothing hanger to the antenna of my radio in my bedroom, so I could get the frequency and get that station and listen to the top 10 every night.
I didn't go to school, because I never stayed anywhere long enough, so I was completely closed off from the outside world. I had no idea about anything.
You should hear what my parents wanted to call me. It was between Brown Rice, Neon Hitch and Z. Ziggurat Zanzibar Zandorf. I'm not joking. Imagine fitting that on my passport!
I think for an artist it's really important to have experiences, and I've had a lot of those. It's definitely inspired my lyrics and my style, even down to what I wear.
A day off after a show with no agenda in a foreign city is about the most fertile creative situation I can imagine. Just walking with nothing to do, killing time and hearing the sights and sounds of an unfamiliar place.
The thought of someone spending $20 to come and see me and saying, 'Oh, I prefer the record and she's completely shattered the illusion' really upsets me. It's such a big deal that people come give me their time.
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest 'cause You know just how far the east is from the west From one scarred hand to the other
