I do watch 'American Idol' sometimes. It's not really that pleasurable... I take that back. It is the epitome of a guilty pleasure. Sometimes there's some good singers on that show.

When you work on a record for three years, it's a great sense of relief when it is finally out in the world. It just feels good.

I learned a long time ago that fame and money is not a ticket to happiness.

My grandparents are from Mexico, so I grew up with great Mexican food.

My favorite recordings are the ones that feel like there were no middlemen in the creation. That's the biggest problem with most films and records being made today - too many people involved. I think it dilutes the artist's intent and inspiration.

The production process has a great way of bringing songs to light and that's a big part of it.

When I started to take literature and poetry classes, I just started to get inspired by these new incredible works of art that I had never seen or heard of before. I wrote a lot of bad high-school poetry, just like pretty much everyone did, I think, at some point. For me, the inspiration never really stopped.