People were like, 'he's collaborating with Taylor Swift' and I was like, 'I am?' I think she's wonderful. Her songwriting has inspired me for years.
The great thing about albums is it gives you a lot of choices, and we can all say that the album business is dead, but watch Taylor Swift. I don't think it's dead. I just think we've got to hit on the energies that make people want to collect albums.
Honestly, I don't really hear the comparisons to Taylor Swift anymore. I think it's because people are finally starting to see me for who I am and my craft and not being the next Taylor.
Grace Kelly is my main inspiration, for her timeless beauty. I like Jennifer Lawrence for her fun, down-to-earth style, and Taylor Swift is always elegant.
Most of my ukulele heroes were traditional players from Hawaii, like Eddie Kamae and Ohta-san. There may not be uke stars in popular culture, but there are certainly pop stars that play uke - George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Taylor Swift, Train, and Paul McCartney.
Just look at the transformation Taylor Swift made from being pop country to pop pop. There are very specific things she cut out and very specific things she adopted.