I try to look at people like Adele and Norah Jones, who are very successful but don't have to deal with scandals.
I think being bi-continental is something I want to continue. Kuala Lumpur is my home, but L.A. is where I've been able to make the music that I want.
In Malaysia, we have a lot of divas, like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey singers. And they were all so so talented, just very talented. For example, there's this one jazz singer, her name is Sheila Majid, and I was always singing her songs.
Home, to me, is where I am and where I feel most comfortable. Obviously, Malaysia is home. In L.A., my home is my apartment because that's my Malaysia.
I started singing very early. I was six or seven years old, and I was singing along to TV commercials and figuring out, 'Oh, hey, I can sing in tune. This is really cool.' But the songwriting thing came much much later, when I was 19 years old.
If you just work on that one thing that's, like, important to you, that has been supportive of you, who has been loving you all this time, if you are able to see that, then that is your 'best love'.
Religion is a huge part of me; I'm a practicing Muslim. I'm pretty much open about it if people were to answer questions. At the end of the day, I'm just a normal girl. I have my own beliefs just like everyone else. I have a strong belief in something, but I also love music.
When I first started in Malaysia, having a Muslim Malay girl singing and holding a guitar was new to everyone. Even Muslims there had issues with it; they found it weird.
I enjoy fashion and taking the effort to present myself well, and I'm glad that a lot of people refer to me as a 'Hijabster'. I'm not the greatest fan of the term, but I think girls everywhere should be confident in their own skin and be inspired to look and feel good inside and out.
In my final year of law school, everything became real. Malaysian TV shows wanted me to perform big concerts. So, after graduating, I decided to go for it. I didn't think I'd be a good lawyer anyway.
I'm based here in L.A., but I think in the future I might consider settling down in Malaysia when I start a family.
My style is all I have. When I go on stage, that's me in my comfort zone. It's not a costume. It's just me. And I want every woman to feel that way.
I think you can soften people's hearts, even if they have a lot of hate. Music can do that if it's beautiful and honest. If I can do that - soften just one person's heart - I consider myself successful already.
I've always been singing all my life, but I started playing guitar when I was 19, and that was my final year in university, in law school. I think that happened when I started making a lot of friends who were in the independent music scene.
Being in the spotlight, you know, you tend to kind of forget who you are. And being an artist... it could be a very superficial job. It could be very pretentious as well.
Racism is everywhere - the older generations in Malaysia still say things like, 'She's darker-skinned; maybe don't marry her,' and it's very judgmental. A lot of girls do try to get fairness cream to lighten their skin, and I'm against all of that.
I just realized the best way to live your life is to just be you, as cliche as it sounds. I grew up trying to please everyone.
I think, from the very beginning, I always knew that I needed to get out of Malaysia and do my thing somewhere else.
Lupe Fiasco is kinda cool. I like him a lot.
When I got signed to the 'Fader' Label, they got really excited about having me as their new artist. They were promoting my music everywhere. Pharrell was one of the producers who wanted to work with me, so I was really lucky to be one of those people who got to work with him.
