Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I'm always working my own thing. A few times a week - I try to not go too crazy - I'm working with some other artist. But I'm constantly working my own stuff, and my own stuff seems to come in little bursts.
When I wrote for myself before as an artist, I probably wrote about 15, 20 songs a year. I thought that was a lot. Then, when I first started writing for the people, I wrote, like, 65 songs in a year for two years in a row.
I think everybody needs to find out who they are and who their, like, inner superhero is, or who you like to be. The world would be a better place if everyone was doing what the hell they wanted to do and being who they wanted to be.
No matter what, if you write a song that's great that everyone expects to be a hit, then everyone's going to be expecting another one from you. If you write a song that no one notices, you're going to want to write one that someone will.
The thrill of writing songs for other people, when you get that right, that person's soul speaks to that song; you've done them a favor and the world a favor. That's what writing is all about - you're always trying to get the real picture.
You go to a studio with a guitar, people are like, 'Oh this girl's going to write this song on a guitar.' Or wants to, or whatever. You go with a ukulele, people are just like 'Eh, well, whatever.' They don't really care. It's a very non-threatening kind of instrument.
It is very hard leaving home for life on the road. The toll that it takes is actually immeasurable, and you can think all you want about what it does to your relationships, but the way it actually plays out is very deep and very unique to those personalities that are involved.
I was done with my second major label deal, and I was doing a lot of urban sessions, and I had an acoustic itch. And you know, I picked up a ukulele. I always wanted one. And it just resonated with me. I would wake up with this uke in my hand. For me the ukulele just opened this door in my heart.
My thing with New York was that it felt so insular. When I went to L.A., everybody I knew was a cool, amazing musician. In New York, they'd be hunkered down trying to form a band. But in L.A., guys in bands were also playing with other artists, touring with other artists, and collaborating with other artists.
When I first got into the major label system, they were like, 'Hey, you're great - now write with a million people so we can get songs.' That was something I hadn't done before, and the songwriters I was working with had worked on some massive numbers - like 'True Colours.' One of the guys wrote 'Livin On A Prayer.'
I have worked with artists who are super-young and new and experiencing success, and I feel bad because I can see it in their eyes that they truly think that is it for the rest of their life. And I am like, 'It may be, but you have to work at it, and even if you do, it may not be, so enjoy what is going on right now.'
