“I did an album and they allowed me to sell it at the show. I also did a Disney cruise line gig.”

I had no idea what it would be like to do an album and that process was grueling and tedious but it was very rewarding.

You can check that box off. You want to make your parents proud for the tuition they paid at NYU.

Nicklaus at the 86 Masters. At his age, with his game at the time.

I always loved Alan Menken songs and wanted my first album to be a tribute to him and his work. I always loved his music.

I would do it again if I had the chance.

We all work together to pump each other up. Before the show [Aladdin], we give each other a pound on the back, like a sports team.

I always wanted to make an album and it was an idea that came to me when we first started working on Aladdin.

That really fuels me and for some, it’s the first time they have seen Aladdin.

It gives him layers and dimensions. He’s a well rounded character and it’s great.

We all [on Aladdin] have a passion to perform and a lot of us trained to do this and there’s a certain gratification from knowing that you did your best work and knowing that you are at the level that you are at.

They were not happy. For the sake of the film, they had to streamline everything.

I get to sing a great song called “Proud of your boy” which was by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman and they were so hurt when it had to be cut from the film [Aladdin].

What fuels me is that there are a lot of people coming to Broadway and to the show [Aladdin] for the first time.

I remember the first time I saw a Broadway show and how excited I was.

Alan Menken took me to his studio and we went through his trunks of songs and put together an album of stuff that people and stuff that people don’t know. I’m very proud with the way it came out.

That song [ “Proud of your boy” ] in particular, I sing towards the beginning of the show [Aladdin], and what it does is show his wants and needs at the beginning and what’s motivating him and carry it throughout the show.

I hate albums that are really happy. When I am really happy, I don’t like to hear happy albums, and when I am really sad I don’t wanna hear happy albums… and I tend to gravitate towards the lonely and isolated anyway when I write.

My album focuses on unrequited love quite a lot because I don’t think it’s spoken about enough in music. I’ve been through it myself and I found it hard to find songs that were about that, so I’ve definitely tried to make that a part of my album.

It takes a lot of people years to turn a negative into a positive. It takes me, like, an album.

What I’m hoping is that every album I’m going to do will give my audience something different, and that they’ll grow as I do.

It’s very hard to be an artist, on my first album, and I’m like asking for money for a music video for every song – it’s so hard to do. You have to pick your battles for sure, but I definitely want – and I’ve always worked to make it all connect – for all of it to feel cohesive.

When I first started writing the album, “Cry Baby” was a song that I really wanted to write because it represented all of these personal insecurities that I had for a long time.

People don’t make albums any more. It’s always about singles. I wanted to take that old-school approach.

Cry Baby wasn’t necessarily a baby theme but I understand what they’re saying. So like, Cry Baby is definitely a remaining character throughout all of my albums.