I wanted to make an album that melodically people can connect to; something that reflects our times and the kinds of difficulties we face.

I built a reputation as a songwriter in the industry before my own hits. People were used to coming to me for songs. There were songs like 'Clown' and 'Mountains' that were my songs that I wanted to keep. But the record labels saw me as a songwriter. It was hard to get people to believe in me as an artist.

I think people don't realize how many hours of practice goes into becoming a musician and getting better.

I was very quiet until I got at the piano, and weekends, lunch breaks, after school, before school, I was just making music.

I wasn't intentionally trying to create my own path or be original, it was just I needed to say certain things and I needed to express myself, and that's how it came out.

I want to speak for people that may not feel like they're being spoken for at the moment. And I want to make a connection between the world around us and the charts.

From when I was a kid I wanted to write. It was so important to me that I was writing my own material.