You have to invest something [in your work]. If you don't risk something that really matters to you - like your integrity, or your pride, or your time, or your security, or your reputation - if you don't risk yourself, you can hear it right away.

And I realized that there's a big difference between deciding to leave and knowing where to go.

The funny thing about gold is how quickly it can tarnish.

I always felt like I could combine good pop songs that are easy for people to like with a real person and a real mind and integrity.

Sometimes I write songs that just come out in a pop format because I grew up on melody and these amazing artists during the 80s. It's my tradition and it's something that I can't really control.

When I started making music, I made music in a very commercial space and I didn't have room to really explore things on my own terms. It took me awhile to create a little bubble where I could explore other things, and new things. When I did that, my tools were songwriting and arranging.

Commercial music is music that a lot of people connect to at the same time, but that doesn't mean it has to be something shallow or without personality.