I ended up doing amazing things with my life; I'm well-read, educated and sophisticated - and I'm not the stereotype everyone makes me out to be.

I grew up in a very musical household. There was music and dance. My great-grandma was a famous tap dancer in the '40s, my mom was a dancer, she met my dad on the road when he was on tour in the '60s. Music is my heart and soul, it's my love.

I have so many songs, it's ridiculous. I love so many different types of music and tend to write all over the map, style-wise. R&B, rock 'n' roll, screamers, pop, good-time songs.

I won't even take jobs where you get paid to sit with a group of friends and party. That's never been my vibe.

I just get focused on whatever is in front of me. When I was filming Crossroads, it had all my focus. Now I'm all focused on finishing my recording so I can get that out. It's just day by day.

I've had ups and downs but always maintained I was a working actor, which is a beautiful thing.

Even though it seems like there are a lot of parts, there is really tons of downtime in the acting world.