I spent two years day and night in that studio trying to learn what the hell was going on.
There are so many traps, so many ways of getting screwed in this business.
I love being part of the ASCAP family of songwriters and composers.
Life is so much easier without the attention.
A great pop song should be felt when you hear it.
You can hear songs that are technically great, songs that tick all the boxes. But for a song to be felt, you need something else.
I've never been cool.
When pop culture can influence things in any way, when a song becomes something bigger than just a song, that's the greatest thing to me.
There was a phase when I and people around me listened to Prince a lot. A lot. We took Prince fandom to the extreme.
If nobody recognizes you, if nobody cares, it's easier to avoid getting carried away. That's way harder if you're a famous artist.
I don't think most people who listen to music are that interested in all the work that goes into making it. It's the artist you like.
I thought it was so cool that all you knew about Prince was about his artistry and music.
I remember that I started playing brass - not so much because I had a calling but because I thought it looked cool.
Singing involves a great deal of psychology.
If the artist isn't having a great day or finds it all boring, my role becomes that of a coach. Getting the very best out of the artist. Helping them perform at their very best when it's game time. One way to get them there is to bring them out of their comfort zones.
If the chords change a lot over the course of a song, it's better to stay within the same melodic structure.
I've learned that things change. The whole boy band thing almost turned into a stock market crash.
Pop music follows the evolution of society in general: Everything moves faster.
