I always wanted to be a musician from when I was kid. It was always a massive dream of mine. School was also really really important to me and having an education was top of my priority. So I really wanted to have a degree before I tried anything in the music industry.

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

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 was so shy and so quiet, and the only time I had my own voice and I could really connect with people was when I was singing or on stage.

Sometimes you feel like a very small drop in this huge ocean.

Melody is the first thing that comes to me when I'm songwriting. I learned piano classically first, and then I went into soul, and so melody has always been the first. It's so important.

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.