Always trust the process. I'm a firm believer in that. You know, you keep your eyes on the destination, and of course there will always be detours, but if you're moving towards it, you will always get there.
Bazzi
I've always had such a high level of respect for Taylor Swift because she writes all of her music.
If you think you're something long enough, eventually, you just turn into it.
I've been playing guitar since I was 6 and then drums, bass, and piano since I was 10 years old.
I tried out for 'The Voice,' and I also tried out for 'America's Got Talent,' and both them, like, reached out to me. I had, like, little singing video on YouTube, and they were like, 'Come out for an audition.' I did, and I got a callback for both of them, actually, and, uh, didn't get anything after that. I was so heartbroken. But look at me now!
Yeah, 'Mine' was inspired by a person, but it became much deeper than that. I obviously pulled lyrics... from stuff I was actually saying to this person and feeling about this person, but it was for people. I didn't want to make that song to impress that girl; I wanted to make that song to make people feel better.
It's truthful - every single song is an extension of me and a truthful piece of inspiration from my past or something I'm currently going through.
I make songs that I genuinely enjoy and love, and just put them out kind of freely and carelessly.
What motivates me is connecting with people and making everybody feel loved.
I'm making music that I love a lot, so to me, they're all the same; I love them all equally as much. It's like children. You don't pick a favorite, even if one goes to Harvard.
I'm not a nervous guy, because I don't think too far ahead. Fear is just thinking about what's going to happen next, right? So if you're not thinking, you can't be scared of anything.
I remember feeling the energy of people. That stuck with me. Understanding that I could stand behind a mic and captivate people. I was always obsessed with that.
No one wants the picture-perfect song anymore. I'm trying to keep the beautiful qualities of pop - nostalgia, melodies, and the feeling that a beautiful pop song can give you - but make it real. It's not polished.
There's moments I go through day to day because I'm human. I think the diversity in my music is going to help people relate to that.
I think space and music go hand in hand in the sense that they give a little more mystery and magic to life.
I went to the studio, and I freestyled 'Beautiful' in, like, an hour and a half, and I threw it up, and people were like, 'This song's gonna change your life.'
Lyrically and melodically, Drake was definitely a big influence of mine.
'Beautiful' is a freestyle, actually. I actually made 'Beautiful' being like, 'I just want something to post on Instagram, like, I don't care, I'm just gonna throw something up today.'
My iPhone background says, 'If you build it, they'll come.' You know, quality over quantity. And I really live by that.
Growing up, I wanted straight hair so bad, like Justin Bieber.
I just like pictures and visuals and stuff.
I'm obsessed with being able to dictate energy in a room.
The album is always definitely the goal, because I think that albums are like captures and bookmarks. After five or six of them, you can always go back and be like, 'Well, what was his first?'... I think an album really gives you a chance to make people feel something.
I set out and I said I wanted to just release music, and I don't care how many people heard it at first. And I just wanted to put records out. I knew that.
You can listen to 'Cosmic' and truly get to know me, which I think is special.
That's the one thing I think I have figured out pretty decently well is I'm a performer. I've always been an entertainer; y'know, growing up, that's all I've ever done.
I knew for a fact it was special, but at the same time, every single song I make, I know it's special. So 'Mine' was a completely similar feeling as I feel about all my other music.
My fans know me too well.
I like to meet girls in real life because social media is such a front, and you can come across and look however you want.
My sound is a mix between pop, hip-hop, and R&B. It's a good collaborative effort of all three.
A lot of my career is mental, and I just have so much perspective from being raised in a city like Detroit and being able to come and live the life that I do now. To see that broad of a spectrum is really helpful for relating to people and feeling them.
I'd like to produce something with Kanye. Like, my production plus his, I think he'd make something really cool.
I think the best thing is having a voice and being able to give people a different perspective and a different opinion and voice my emotions and how I feel. To be heard by people, it feels good.
I was the biggest class clown. I loved attention.
My mind has always been like, 'You're a star! You're in it! You're killing it!'
To finally have people receive and hear what I'm saying is one of the most gratifying feelings an artist can ever have.
At 10 years old, I was in my church band, playing in front of a couple thousand people every week.
I've always been an entertainer. It's in my blood, in the sense that I've always loved doing it.
I don't really like to think too far ahead when it comes to the music.
'Mine' was interesting because it was about the way that someone made me feel so loved - so beautiful, so special, so accepted. I knew that it was deeper than just writing a song about that.
I use music like therapy sessions.
'Gone' is a really special record with a lot of energy and power and swag.
