My mother is a singer, my sisters all sing, my uncles are incredible singers and guitar players, so it's just kind of been like my habitat.

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.

What I like about Elvis is the same thing I like about James Brown, Michael Jackson, Prince. These guys, back in the day, there was no smoke and mirrors. It was just raw talent. They would step out onstage and command an audience.

Music is not math. It's science. You keep mixing the stuff up until it blows up on you, or it becomes this incredible potion.

I love that I can talk to my fans through Twitter, to cut out the middle man. Because I've done interviews where my words have gotten twisted, so it's nice to be able to have things coming straight from me.

It's dedicating yourself to your craft. Spending thousands of hours in a studio learning how to write a song, learning how to play different chords, training yourself to sing. You know, to get better and better.