I was signed by L.A. Reid on Arista Records when I was 16. He understood me and believed in me. Arista folded and I got put on RCA or whatever, then there were new people there, and every six months it changes and more new people come in.

When I'm going through something that has a big impact on my life, it's much easier to sing.

You're so beautiful but that's not why I love you, I'm not sure you know this but the reason I love you is you

I'm gonna live my life. I won't watch the time go by. I won't keep it inside. Freak out, let it go.

When I can do an acoustic set, I can sit down and sing. And then when I have a huge arena full of people, there's nothing like that. It's the coolest feeling in the world, but I also like to play small intimate shows because I feel you can connect a little more. And that's something I had to learn - how to connect to a big audience versus the small one.

It's so easy for me to do a boy-bashing pop song, but to sit down and write honestly about something that's really close to me, something I've been through, it's a totally different thing.

Everything is always spur-of-the-moment. All of my tattoos I decide that second and do it.