I was raised with a mother who told me that I wouldn't succeed, that I wasn't good enough. Even at the pinnacle of my success, she'd come to a show, and there'd be, like, 10,000 people screaming. And she'd say, "I just don't get it." I think she had so little faith in herself and her abilities as a parent that she couldn't imagine any offspring of hers could do so well. And all that did was drive me to push back. If someone says, "You can't do this," I'm like, "F-ck you! Oh, yes I can, and I will."

I believe this is Heaven to no one else but me.

We are in an age of technology where we sit in our little cubicles and we IM each other and Skype each other and never connect as human beings.

Your love is just the antidote when nothing else can cure me.

I think one of the most important things, that this album is for me, and this period in my life, is about gratitude. About recognizing all of the things, daily, that I'm grateful for, and there are many in my life. I'm just so blessed, and I try to carry that with me every day.

You take me in, no questions asked. You strip away the ugliness that surrounds me. Are you an angel?

I've learned to trust myself, to listen to truth, to not be afraid of it and to not try and hide it.