My songwriting and overall approach to music go beyond just good singing and strong musicality - I want people, now more so than ever, to feel something and be moved somehow by the content I create.

If I can help encourage or inspire someone out there who is struggling with some of the same or similar issues as myself, then I think it's worth talking about.

In regards to my artistry, I've learned the importance of being vulnerable.

Even in the sad songs, I want people to know that it won't always be like that.

My advice to anyone wanting to get into the music business, is always be ready to learn and remain humble.

As long as children are still getting kicked out of their homes by parents, getting bullied, commuting suicide, et cetera. it's definitely still worth talking about.

I think my entire songwriting catalog reflects where I was in my life at the time. I capture whatever moment I am experiencing in life.

My songs always tend to have a good element to the story. That is who I am - an optimistic person.

I think my songwriting has developed over the years. As I get older, I have become less afraid to share real experiences.

I always love to support my friends and how they choose to express themselves creatively.

I am extremely grateful for my 'American Idol' experience, and I enjoyed every bit of it.

What is the purpose of wealth if it cannot serve an ideal that enhances humanity and betters the lives of the people, even if that means those we have never met before in our lives?

When the media enjoy such excessive profits from this mass hysteria, what incentive do they have to restrain it?

Abhorrence towards bitter circumstances and attachment towards sweet ones is the nature of agnan (ignorance of the self). Bitter and sweet will not exist if agnan (ignorance of the self) leaves.

if you are able to decide, then you are able to be happy

Easy and difficult things are juat small parts of life, the rest are what have to be done.

Human felicity is produced not as much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day.

We need a tax code that promotes savings, investment, achievement, innovation, and hard work.

Oh great. Yoda captured us.

It turns out that sharing the past with someone is different from reliving it when you’re alone. It feels less like a wound, more like a poultice.

We find many things to which the prohibition of them constitutes the only temptation.