I tried to work with a record label; I tried to work with a booking agency, variety shows. I went to Vegas. I just tried everything I could think of, and nothing took. No one thought there was a place for my style and my music; it was just too different.
I just loved EDM because I felt like it inspired dance and movement.
The truth is that several years ago, I suffered from depression. And I remember during this time, I basically fell into this hole where my life became cold, and it became gray, and I lost sight of everything that was important to me.
Maker is extremely proactive and creative with their talent. They seem to have mastered the difficult task of giving attention to their smaller, growing channels while still being able to add value to their larger established channels - plus, with this partnership, I am one step closer to becoming a Disney princess!
The same way that I practiced the violin, the same way that I practiced my dance moves, I decided that I was going to practice being positive and practice loving myself.
I know that I received so much help from God to become that kind of person that I wanted to be. That's honestly the message that I think is in a lot of my songs.
YouTube is such a funny little world. You can create a fanbase.
Coming from a YouTube perspective, a lot of times you kind of limit yourself and think, 'Oh, artists from the real world wouldn't want to work with someone who's made their career on YouTube.' But more and more, I'm realizing that artists from both sides are learning that we can benefit from each other.
YouTube did more for me than 'America's Got Talent.'
Through my unique style of playing, I want to prove that you don't have to conform to be accepted. The greatest value comes from loving yourself for who you are.
A lot of people have told me along the way that my style and the music I do... is unmarketable. But the only reason I'm successful is because I have stayed true to myself.
I played the violin my whole life. I wanted to play from the time I was just a little kid, and I've always loved dance as well. I wanted to make people smile. I wanted to add an extra energy to my playing and make it visual and make it unique and fun.
I draw inspiration from my life, and, honestly, a lot of my religious beliefs have stemmed into my music.
It really is ironic that the saddest I'd ever been was when I had 'achieved' all the things I had wanted. I was so disgustingly thin, but I was so unhappy.
It is so cool to be able to stand as a witness of Christ and to be able to be proud of it and be part of His army.
I got all these books about, like, what you need to know to enter the entertainment industry. And I remember I sent my music to record labels, and I took these little DVDs and sent them all over the place. And either no one got back to me or they just kept saying, 'You're too different.'
I just realized one day that I was so unhappy. And not only that, but I didn't even like the person that I was. I didn't even know who I was. And so 'Shatter Me' is about first discovering what was under the shell and then learning to love that person that was under it. And then not being afraid to break free.
It is very unnatural to dance while playing the violin. I had to practice so hard to learn how to do it, but now it is part of my expression, and it comes naturally. I have to know a song perfectly before I can even begin to move.
Once I know a song really well, I can then have fun dancing.
If I like dubstep and electronic, why don't I make the violin fit me rather than making myself fit the violin?
