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“I studied Paul Simon's 'Slip Slidin' Away' and 'Still Crazy After All These Years.' I wanted to explore adult themes, portraying the hurt that's in even a good relationship.”

“Jeff Buckley songs are kind of random but so catchy.”

“There is a pop element to what I do, but I'm going for a deeper, more left-of-center vibe. That's the sound I've always been looking for.”

“'Girls Go Wild' was born out of a Joshua Tree excursion with some close friends after coming home from a long bit of touring.”

“I think Pride, it means ultimately, finally, being able to live with freedom in some ways. Or, at least, that's what we're striving for.”

“The first time I wrote a song, I couldn't really believe - 'Can you just do that? You're just allowed?' I never thought about songs on the radio and who wrote them.”

“When the major labels didn't work out the first time around, it taught me not to force things. You gotta let it flow.”

“I look on the outside how I feel on the inside.”

“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.”

“Music really matters in politics.”

“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 like diversity. I'd like there to be all levels of gay and straight, all different variations of gender, all colors, all creeds. I'm into seeing that.”

“I have a lot of stories about being mistaken for a guy.”

“My mom died before she knew I was gay, and my dad thought it was a phase, then realized it wasn't.”

“I think I have a different view of what pop is and what can be acceptable in that realm. I feel good about that. I want fans to see that not everything's so black and white with genres.”

“The two years I spent solely writing for other people kind of took me away from myself.”

“I only want to write a song with the people who want to write a song with me.”

“With Joe Walsh, that was kind of random. I'd written 'Hi-Roller Baby' for myself while I was at Island/Def Jam; literally, four years later, it got cut. Songs can be around for a long time.”

“I was having a nice anonymous little time as a writer. I really was on the writer path. I was sort of minding my own business. I loved making a living in music.”

“It's interesting when you write something for somebody else, and then you're like, 'Oh man, I just laid my whole trip on them, and they don't even know!'”