I've always had an eclectic taste in music. But what I try to do is combine these things in ways that others would never think of, like putting Bun B on an Elton John song.
I think it should be socially acceptable for men to like 'You're Beautiful' by James Blunt.
I've only had success when I'm not trying to. It's that weird thing where if you're trying to impress a girl, you're not going to impress her. But if you aren't trying to impress a girl, you'll probably impress her because you're not trying.
My favorite Duke player ever is Steve Wojciechowski. He called me one day congratulating me on my success thus far, and I was like,'I appreciate it, but man, please don't congratulate me. I know when you guys start the season, you're not just trying to be 10-10 or ACC champions, you're trying to win it all.'
I realized that a lot of people in my family had sacrificed for me to have the opportunity to go to a place like Duke. I owed it to them to finish. I graduated with a 3.6.
I thought, 'Oh that's what happens. You put a song out and everyone likes it.' Well, then a funny thing happened: I started putting more songs out, and none of them did the same thing.
It's like, we all grow up thinking it would be so nice to have hundreds of people falling over themselves trying to grab us, telling us we're great, that they love us.
I remember being 24 in Los Angeles. And up until that moment, when my mom would call my cell phone and it would ring, I would be flushed with some sort of excitement that we all have - a little dopamine rush, when my phone rings - and I'd look down, and it would say, 'Mom.' It used to feel like a job to pick that up.
That's why I make mixtapes. That's why I work with Don Cannon; that's why i work with Big Sean. Even though I don't rap, I got love and acceptance in that community, and that's something that I really take seriously and hold close to my heart.
It took me a long time to stumble upon a sound, and I figured out I wanted to kinda sing rapper's lyrics.
All my music is autobiographical, and that's the reason why people like my music. They know when I'm saying something on a song, I mean it. It comes from a real place and captures the realness in my life.
I hated the thought of being just a songwriter.
A lot of my friends who I wrote or produced songs for came back and helped me make 'Pages.' It's better than I ever could have imagined.
I co-produced 'Boyfriend' by Justin Bieber and worked on Labrinth's album, so I've been keeping busy.
When I recorded 'Cooler Than Me', I had been singing for like, three months at the most. I was just a producer experimenting with my voice on tracks, and now I'm, like, a really good singer in a legit way.
How can a song all about struggling with the afterglow of fame thrust someone into fame? How can a lyric like, 'I'm just a singer who already blew his shot,' give a singer another shot? I don't know... but it's funny.
I'm kind of like a rapper trapped in a singer's body.
My earliest musical memory is of my older sister playing me Nirvana's 'Nevermind' on headphones in the back of the car on a road trip.
People like me for my songwriting and production, not my singing.
I feel like my best music is still ahead of me, and I can't wait for everyone to hear it.
