I think I remember from the offset I said, 'I've visited this territory. This isn't for me.' And then I read the script and I said, 'You know, this is completely something different. This is a whole new life.'

The idea that I would ever end up on David Letterman or Jay Leno is horrifying. I am such a freak in comparison to most other twenty-five-year-old guys. I have no idea what other people are thinking. I’m not really in touch.

I fail enough and I beat myself up enough. I don't need anybody else to do it for me.

It's okay to stand on your own two feet and to be different, to be yourself.

It's nice if people ask to use your song. You have to make a decision as an artist how you feel about that.

In 1971, Bossier City, Louisiana, there was a teenage girl who was pregnant with her second child. She was a high school dropout and a single mom, but somehow she managed to make a better life for herself and her children. She encouraged her kids to be creative, to work hard and to do something special. That girl is my mother and she's here tonight. And I just want to say, I love you, Mom. Thank you for teaching me to dream.

I thought it would be a great opportunity to work with someone that I really like and really respect as an artist [like Alessandro Michele].