In real life, I'm such a dorky, happy person. I express myself in three ways: I talk a lot, I write songs and I get tattoos.

I try to get through emotional pain and not go around it, it always ends sooner that way. I also use chocolate.

I took time off from school and traveled to Italy when I was 19, living with my extended family members. I must have slept in 30 different houses those months, taken in by people who'd never even met me.

It felt very natural to me to write a Christmas song, but at the same time I had to really put all sorts of pressure aside and just let the creativity flow and see what came out.

What I really love is touring on a bus with my band playing shows every night and feeling the audience, feeling the presence of people actually listening to my music. Feeding my soul is what touring feels like for me and I absolutely refuse to have a bad time doing something I really, really love.

Everything around me inspires and influences me. Mainly love - falling in it, losing it, loving it and hating it.

My earliest memories as a child are listening to Beatles records, and they are a big part of how I've learned to write pop songs.