I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.
I think ABBA have a pure joy to their music and that's what makes them extraordinary.
Music fills in for words a lot of the time when people don't know what to say, and I think music can be more eloquent than words.
What I like about pop music, and why I'm still attracted to it, is that in the end it becomes our folk music.
As hard as it is, as ghetto as it is, hip-hop is pop music. It's the sound of music getting out of the ghetto, while rock is looking for a ghetto.
Music keeps the heart porous in many ways.
As a musician and a songwriter, it is an act of the ego to believe that other people might be interested in your point of view. But it is usually an empathetic nature that gets you going in the first place. Music keeps the heart porous in many ways.
I went through a struggle, and I really needed to get myself together and connect with my purpose, which is music.
Music is all I know.
All I could think about was, 'I just wanna blow him away. I wanna make him proud, because I really wanna sign with Timbaland and spend the rest of my career making music with Tim.'
I got into writing music when I was, like, 14 or 15. It was a very private thing for me because I used it as an outlet and emotional release. I kept it very close to myself and didn't tell too many people about it.
My music is the most 'me' thing about me. Everything is in my music.
If you meet me, you might not get to know me. If you hear my music? You'll get to know me.
Me in my music and onstage - that's me without any fears of judgement; that's me when I'm shining.
Music is almost like a therapy for me. It helps keep me centered and think straight. Before I discovered it, I was walking around, and it felt like there were 25 extra pounds of gravity on my shoulders. It's like you're mute or something.
From the beginning, I wanted to make dance music with a human element to it.
I'm from the Bob Wills and the Little Richard school of music. Bob Wills did what the hell he thought, Little Richard did what he thought, and those were my big influences.
I never expected to record again. I knew I had done everything I ever wanted to do. I was satisfied. But... all the time I'm watching the country music horizon. And I'm sayin' 'Lord, is there anybody gonna come?'
If you want me in the Hall of Fame put me in because of some contributions that I have made to country music.
I was a huge Bowie fan since I was 12 years old. That was the first 'punk' rock I got into in the Seventies. I didn't find out about a lot of the other stuff that was going on, like New York Dolls and Roxy Music, until a lot later.
I want to travel around the country and make my living playing music. I also try to behave in a way that I would appreciate as a music fan. That's how we conduct ourselves, be it in writing music or playing it live.
