“I think Lady Gaga is great and is changing pop music and bringing back a certain rock ‘n’ roll spirit, swagger to the game.”

All these songs honestly explore the ups and downs of my reality.

Nowadays in pop, there’s not a lot of men that are singing big and loud and high – it’s not as common as it once was.

Be who you want to be – be free in your own skin, be liberated and feel beautiful, and do what you want to do without judgement

I was a big fan of Middle Eastern elements of music and experimental electronic and tribal sounds.

In middle school, I really didn’t have music, but in high school, I remember taking a lot of choir and drama.

I like adding little elements into the final mix. I’m more fond of the ’70s glam than ’80s. I have that style of vocals… there are a lot of pop artists who are using the glam vibe in their music. I’m part of that wave.

Love overcomes hate. Love has no color. Love has no orientation. All is love.

I think the responsibility of pop stars is to liberate the masses. In that everyone can be whatever they wanna be.

My mother was always supportive.

I need to be able to explain myself in context.

I’ve been kind of toying around with the bi thing in my head. I wouldn’t ever give myself the label ‘bisexual,’ but bi-curious? Yea.

I think, for the majority of my twenties, I was always so concerned with what I didn’t have, or what I still wanted.

I knew that it was my only shot to be taken seriously in the recording industry, because it’s fast and broad.

I started to realize I wasn’t like every other boy.

Pop is a little bit theatrical. That’s the whole vibe. That’s the point – is that it’s great music, great melodies, great hooks. But, on top of it, it’s a presentation. There’s a showmanship about it. And that’s why I wanted to be a pop star.

I’m not scared at all… Of the cracks in the crystal ball.

Certain temperaments respond to anxiety by pulling inward.

Maybe [success] is because I’m in China and I’m more open. Maybe it’s my independent behavior, or because I participated in certain projects. I have no idea.

To call yourself a Chinese artist or woman artist or African artist reflects a certain kind of condition. To me, that is not necessary.

Being such a tomboy growing up, that was one thing that changed me as a person, as well. It broadened me, like me cracking myself open in a certain way.

If you resist confusion,you are always confused. We think that we resist certain states because they are there, but actually they are there because we resist them.

In a certain sense, if I have an idea about you that I believe, I’ve degraded you. I’ve made you into something very small. This is the way of human beings, this is what we do to each other.

They know deep down that certain things in their lives are working or aren’t working, that certain parts of their lives are functional and others are dysfunctional. But sometimes, as human beings, we don’t want to know what’s not convenient. So we pretend not to know.

At a certain point we need to grow up; we need to look inside ourselves for our inner guidance. There are things most human beings know; they just don’t want to know them.