I feel like making music because - and this has much to do with the way I was able to make this record - there's more of myself in it.

In making a movie, you're part of a big machine. Even in a small movie there are still so many people involved in the process, and it costs so much money to make. There is so much more invested in it for a lot of different people, so much money is sunk into it that they usually want some guarantee or promise that it's going to be able to do something on a financial level. There's just a lot more messing with you in film. I love movies and I love to watch movies and being a part of the whole film experience.

I actually did a lot of improvised movies or movies that were partially improvised.

If you're in the public eye and you have young girls who look up to what you do, they're going to look to you for certain cues, so you have to take that as a responsibility, whether you think you deserve it or not.

I'll have these internal moments where I'm empathizing with someone else or feeling something myself, but I'm like, "How can I see the best in this situation?" Sometimes those are the moments where you can have the most clarity.

One of the things I love about doing things that are creative is that I feel like it's my right as an artist not to be affected by the reactions of those people that are going to hear my songs.

If people just want to be famous, that's just not enough to get you up at 4 in the morning to go to work. You have to love what you're doing.