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 can't even speak Hawaiian, but if you go there and listen to a Hawaiian song, you get captured because it's so beautiful, like the melody is just gorgeous and you know Bob Marley is on the radio every single day. It's very reggae-influenced down there. Basically, you haven't been to paradise if you haven't been to Hawaii.

When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change 'cause you're are amazing just the way you are.

My dad was just the king of finding these little spots for us to stay that we should never have been staying at.

Doo-wop is special music to me because it's so straightforward and melody-driven and captures emotions.

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

People can hear my songs are coming from something real. I mean what I say; I'm not just writing to impress critics or young girls, or older girls. The way I talk is the way I write a song.