I work hard but I play hard.

The thing that I love, especially after sound check, is when I'm in that stadium alone. It's complete silence. I love that.

I'm glad I took that time to work really hard on the music. I feel the effects of that now in a positive way with my connection with the audience.

When Obama talks about raising taxes on the rich, he's looking at me.

It sounds like a cliche, but it... you do sing about what you know about. And I grew up in a small town, and I grew up in a place where your whole world revolved around friends, family, school, and church, and sports.

An important mentor for me, in terms of teaching me that there's a right way and a wrong way to do things, was probably my football coach. And playing football was one of the first times in my life that I realized nothing is given to you. You have to work really hard.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm a helluva kisser.