There's no right or wrong - I think people can be messy in a very soulful way. The point in the end is to make people feel something, and there's so many different ways to do that.

I grew up playing classical guitar, so everything I learned was rooted in technique, form, presentation.

I've always been pretty unfaithful - I've never stuck to one kind of genre or music.

Singing in second language makes you brave in a way you're not aware of. You say things in very blunt ways or direct ways. It sets your mind free because you don't have a history with the language. You have to use the most direct way of communication, which is saying what you want to say in the way you can.

I've always been drawn to all kinds of music - to me, it's all the same. There's different arrangements and slightly different ways of writing, but if it's a good song, it's a good song - you can dress it up any way you like.

When I went, I hadn't had very much time to have hopes or expectations. I knew very little about Nashville, and I think that was probably good. When I was there, I got really lucky - I ended up with people that just were amazing musicians, and that's the Nashville that I experienced. That is a big part of Nashville - there's a lot of musicians, and that makes it a very special place and shapes the city.

For me, the guitar was just a tool to make songs. I started when I was 10 - I learned what I had to learn to get my ideas across. I always felt I was a weak guitar player, but now I realize with the finger-picking stuff, I actually know how to do what I do with my songs, but I couldn't step in and be an overall guitar player. But my guitar playing has always been driven by the need to write songs.