Kirstin Maldonado

“Everyone comes to music when they are mourning, when they are happy - for anything.”

“I think, now that I've been writing songs in general, whether it's for the group or for me, I definitely feel like I got a little trigger happy, because it was so exciting to have production and create and put a lot in there.”

“I guess, just being in a group, I had never thought to question my individual artistry.”

“I'm pretty gloriously positive and naive in a way.”

“I remember seeing 'Chicago' and 'Legally Blonde' and waiting by the stage door.”

“I remember moving to California and feeling so strange because I'd always seen myself moving to New York.”

“A cappella group names are hard!”

“Moving to L.A. and making albums was an exciting outlet, but I always thought I'd be slumming it job to job in N.Y.C. with hopes of being on Broadway!”

“People aren't always going to approve or like what you have to say. But as long as you believe in it and are happy, that's all that matters.”

“Literally, when the pilot came out for 'Glee,' I think we had a watching party or something. We were all seniors, and everyone all of a sudden in the show choir were so excited. We were like, 'This show is awesome. It's so cool. This is exactly us.'”

“I'm always trying to tell fans to love themselves. I see them going through a ton of hardships on Twitter and being bullied. It's really important and easier said than done to take care of yourself. A lot of people put themselves out for others and don't really think about mending themselves. Sometimes, they get a little lost that way.”

“That's the power of the Internet: you can literally find everything.”

“I've listened to a lot of different styles of music growing up, and they've all influenced me at different times in my life.”

“My career started the second we auditioned for 'The Sing-Off' on NBC in 2011.”

“I want to inspire people to tear down their walls, especially for teenage girls.”

“David Phelps has an uncanny ability to sound full and powerful on every part of his range and sing with so much emotion.”

“Being able to wake up every day knowing I'm living out my dream of performing is the best feeling in the world.”

“I fulfill a part of myself in Pentatonix. And then, we can all step away individually and do the specific things we like because we're all so different in musical tastes.”

“We always try to make every song we do sound like a track. It's vocal, but we want it to be really full so no one really can even know if it's a cappella. It's not like it's missing anything, per se.”

“I've always loved lyrics, so I used to listen to Sara Bareilles - more folky, singer-songwritery people.”