Having my Canadian citizenship is a blessing at this time, and there's a part of me that feels very much one foot in and one foot out, and I know I can go back to Canada whenever. There are a lot of things that Canada does really well are the same things that are very messed up in the U.S., but I know that's a pretty self-centered stance. I don't know. It can be pretty discouraging, particularly in a city like New York. It's hard to see so many of the issues happening in the country in an up close way, but at the same time, there's a sense of positive solidarity here.

I have moved around a lot, and I've lived in all of these different environments - that has affected the kinds of music and the range of music and influences I've had in my life. All of those influences - more subconsciously - play into the music I make.

For me, I don't really feel like I have any particular main influences or artists that I pull from; it's more of an underlying effect of such a big range of music that I love and I identify with - and all of that plays into what I do in minimal ways. I just really try to make music that reflects my identify, which is hard to pin down and is a lot of different things. I strive to make music that is hard to describe and meshes a lot of different genres, with the vocals being the thing that ties it all together.

My ideal situation is to be able to call the shots and be able to work with whomever I want to work with, and really make something amazing. I'd like to crossover more to have mainstream appeal, but I recognize that the music I make isn't your typical top-40 pop record. Striking that balance is my long-term goal.

I think there is a misconception that when people are the face of something, or they're the voice, especially when they're young women, that they're being created or molded by someone else. I think more so than not wanting to be a singer I was afraid of being mislabeled as just a singer - not that that's a bad thing.

Having my Canadian citizenship is a blessing at this time, and there's a part of me that feels very much one foot in and one foot out, and I know I can go back to Canada whenever. There are a lot of things that Canada does really well are the same things that are very messed up in the U.S., but I know that's a pretty self-centered stance. I don't know. It can be pretty discouraging, particularly in a city like New York. It's hard to see so many of the issues happening in the country in an up close way, but at the same time, there's a sense of positive solidarity here.

I want every album and every year to be a period of growth - and exponential growth as to what I'm able to do the each time around. I hope that I can really take my music to a place where it's widely heard and I can be touring and playing shows to bigger audiences.