I remember growing up singing; even when I was just three years old, I was singing all the time in the house. My parents said I was singing before I could even talk properly.

The first time I worked out I almost threw up. I did not feel good at all. My friend said, 'You have to get past the first month, you're going to feel so much better.' And she was right: After about 30 or 40 days, I saw changes.

I think, for me, the goal was never really for my EPs to go mainstream. I think the intention of them was to create a little bit of buzz and to show my musicality because I wrote and produced the EPs myself. The goal was to experiment, with no rules.

I started writing music when I was 15 in my bedroom, and I'd post them on MySpace, and from there it shifted to doing covers on YouTube and building my Twitter.

There are people who can achieve huge success in life, while adding a bit of fun and a splash of colour to this increasingly grey world.

Humility is the true key to success. Successful people lose their way at times. They often embrace and overindulge from the fruits of success. Humility halts this arrogance and self-indulging trap. Humble people share the credit and wealth, remaining focused and hungry to continue the journey of success.

The focus on just thinking about standardized test scores as being synonymous with achievement for teenagers is ridiculous, right? There are so many things that kids care about, where they excel, where they try hard, where they learn important life lessons, that are not picked up by test scores.

I wanted to honor the memory of my father, who was a great opera singer and died very young, without knowing my success. As I inherited his voice, it is in recognition of that heritage.