I've become more introverted as I've got older. I used to be an outgoing person who joked around a lot, but as the amount of energy I expend by sharing my music has increased, I like to balance it by spending time by myself and recuperating.

If I had to pick one social action I could encourage all my friends, family and fans to do, it would be to teach a child. One, to educate them about good music, but two, because that kind of relationship helps build a bond. When you share music with somebody, that then becomes your link to them. Music is what connects a lot of us, over borders.

America's biggest export is media and I think that's a positive thing.

We live in an era of consumerism and it's all about desire-based consumerism and it has nothing to do with things we actually need.

I think by the next generation either we'll have a lot of idiots who are just completely immersed in media and corporatized information, or we'll have people who enjoy media and corporatized information, but are more interconnected with human beings around the world ... And who share common goals and are willing to accept that they are a global citizen. I think the latter is more the direction.

I felt I had an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of great soul musicians of the past, who made a lot of social and political commentary through their music.

You can feel a lot of things, and that's okay. Channel that into your passion.