Sara Bareilles

“I've been told to wear different things, to look different, to lose weight, to look sexier, to wear more hair, to wear more makeup.”

“I'm a social person, and I'm used to working as a band member. I like that. I like being a part of a family onstage and on the road.”

“It's so easy to just rip someone's work apart.”

“My hairstylist taught me a trick for my hair. You section off your hair and put them up in these crazy little knots and then it looks like you curled your hair. It's saved me so much time 'cause on the road you don't have time or plugs to plug your curling iron in.”

“With musical theatre, although there are rules, they're so different to the ones I feel like I have accidentally been ingrained with writing pop music. The main point is to tell the story. You just have to make sure the character's voice is strong and the storytelling is strong.”

“If you take your fear and mash it into something that's actually useful, then it doesn't feel like it wins.”

“The greatest thing we can do is to give each other a safe space to truly, truly be ourselves in the world.”

“I have a tendency to become very self-critical.”

“Elton John is a huge influence and an artist I've listened to since I was a little girl.”

“Stepping back into theatre, a childhood dream, I always felt like I would be onstage. I hadn't imagined myself in a composer role... I find it so satisfying to be behind the scenes and writing the music and watching it elevated and characterized by different voices than my own. It's so exciting.”

“The women in my family are all super-emotional. The catchphrase in our family is 'Listen to my words, not my tears.'”

“I wasn't Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson. I wasn't Tori Amos or Norah Jones. Nobody knew what to do with me.”

“I love the sound and temperament of an upright piano.”

“I love, when I feel challenged, to step up to my highest capacity.”

“I'm a traditional singer-songwriter. I have a more organic sound.”

“One of my earliest memories of writing at a piano was alongside my sister.”

“I never played coffee shops; I just played a lot of coffee shop-sized venues. I took every venue I could get my hands on.”

“My favourite thing to do in any city is just to get lost and go for long walks.”

“I'm writing about emotions.”

“My life is so different because of 'Waitress.' The people that I'm close to, the things I do professionally, my colleagues, my best friend and my boyfriend - like, all of these things have come to me because of the show. And it's really beautiful.”