Pressure is high and jobs are at stake. There is nothing wrong with having commercial music to pitch for those situations, as well as for ad campaigns.

I have been exposed to most musical genres and have learned how to tackle them effectively.

Music is cyclical and as an artist and songwriter, you need to be able to predict what trend is coming next.

In Europe, radio stations are owned by a variety of different entities, so there is less uniformity on radio programming and more opportunity for artists to get radio play and break overseas.

I first got interested in music as a toddler by my childhood babysitter, Rosetta Atkins. She taught me how to sing by imitating the voices on the gospel radio station she listened to - both men and women's voices.

As a new artist you should ignore trends at all costs.

Taking constructive criticism from others is required to get to the next level.