It's possible to climb to the top without stomping on other people.

I've always written songs the same way. You learn different tricks - you learn craft, you learn structure, all that - as you go.

the battle's in your hands now, but I would lay my armor down, if you said you'd rather love than fight.

I've been a huge fan of Chris Martin forever; it'd be awesome to work with him. He's really kind, and he's been really encouraging when we've met.

I would read the Shel Silverstein poems, Dr. Seuss, and I noticed early on that poetry was something that just stuck in my head and I was replaying those rhymes and try to think of my own. In English, the only thing I wanted to do was poetry and all the other kids were like, "Oh, man. We have to write poems again?" and I would have a three-page long poem. I won a national poetry contest when I was in fourth grade for a poem called "Monster In My Closet.

I think I fall into the category of the hopeless romantic, and I think youdo too, because you're here...The tricky thing about us, the hopeless romantic, is when we fall in love with someone, when we say hello—and it’s magical—we never imagine that hello can turn into a goodbye. And when we kiss someone—and it’s magical—we never ever imagine that it can turn into a last kiss.

When I'm 40 and nobody wants to see me in a sparkly dress anymore, I'll be, like: 'Cool, I'll just go in the studio and write songs for kids.'