Sometimes I get more excited for shows that I know are going to be quieter because it gets me more inspired to be more of a showman and be more of an entertainer and forces me to work harder.
Someone was like, ‘If you wanna be a celebrity, know that every girl you talk to is going to be your girlfriend.’ And I was like, ‘Fine. I accept that for getting to do what I love for the rest of my life.’
I don’t want to just be a teenage star. I want to be known by parents, and I want them to go, ‘Oh I love that song; he’s really good for his age. My daughter loves him, but I love him, too.’
With love, there are so many layers to it that you can write all day about it. It’s not just heartbreak or falling in love; there’s so many different ways to look at it.
So many of my songs are based on things that either happened to me or to someone I know, but there are also ones where I’ve written a made-up story. All of them are about very real emotions, and I just find different ways to express them.
Mercy,’ I love conceptually because I feel like you can either think about it as if it were a girl – which it sounds like it could be about a girl – but I like to picture it as ‘pleading for mercy for my career’ type of thing.
No matter what, I’m trying to have fun and, depending on the mood, fun can be on a roller coaster and playing onstage, or fun can be sitting in a room with three of your best friends talking for two hours.
I’ve never had a scandal, but I don’t know if that’s so much because I’m perfect, or because people aren’t caring enough yet. Give it some time. I’ll probably be very upset, but it’s a part of the gig.
