I think my first song ever was when my cat died. It was this awful, dreadful black cat who was angry and hated everything. Yet I was so upset when it died.

I love making music. I feel like people often get into that 'you should only make music for yourself' kind of place, where they say things like, "I don't write for other people, I write for myself," and I feel like that misses the mark so much because music, especially pop music, is so much more than yourself.

I feel like if you compare yourself to other successful musicians you will never be successful, because there will always be someone above you who has done something more or done something first or done something better.

It is one of those things that is universally connectable, people can connect to it from everywhere; music is like that universal language.

My Dad played the trombone and I think my Mom played the piano for about two years. It is very self-driven. They pushed me to do piano lessons, but they were never forceful about anything. They never pushed me to sing or anything, it was something that I did myself.

I feel like success is really subjective. You could win a school talent show and be like "I was successful", or you could get a Number One in New Zealand and be like "I was successful', or you could win a Grammy and be like "I was successful".

Sometimes I just get into the zone of the song, but in the outset I feel like I love to cater to people - but not necessarily at the expense of my artistry or anything like that.