I'm not a complicated person.

I feel like I've got far more gay fans in America... Maybe they caught wind that I have a cute Jewish brother who's gay.

I love Barbra Streisand and Sade who've both had careers in soul and I want my music to have that timeless quality that isn't necessarily now.

I would like to think I am feminist in some sorts.

I don't know if I should say this, but I feel more like a singer than an artist.

I started meeting the right people, like [producer] Dave [Okumu], who explained to me how songwriting is really simple - "just like shitting," he said. "You gotta let it all out." When he put it like that, however disgusting it is, it made a lot of sense to me.

I tried a couple of pop writers - none of the big, big, big ones - but it didn't work for me. I do have a commercial voice; I'm not quirky. I'm very normal and that's probably why I like people like Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston. It's no-nonsense. They sing well, and that's it.