I don't try and be dark, but there are obviously darker emotions that I want to capture sometimes.

It's just all love. That's what music is. That's why music is created. To make people feel good, to uplift people. That's what musicians are for: to give everyone an escape, to let everyone feel good and take people out of everyday problems, so that they can hear music and sing words that are hopefully relatable.

I felt like I didn't have [any] pizzazz, and a lot of girls say I'm out of this world, so I was like I guess I'm from Mars.

My father moved to Hawaii from Brooklyn and my mother came there as a child from the Philippines. They met at a show where my dad was playing percussion. My mom was a hula dancer.

I think everybody don't know what color I am. It's like, "He's not black enough. He's not white enough. He's got a Latin last name but he doesn't have - he doesn't speak Spanish. Who are we selling this to? Are you making urban music? Are you making pop music? What kind of music are you making?"

I grew up with so many different songs that the ones that are fun to play are the ones I want to do.

I always say I wanna work with Alicia Keys. I'm in awe of her.