Tom Odell

“I want people to hear the honesty in my singing, and that I'm not hiding behind anything. It's raw. It's not for any arrogance or ego. It's just pure feelings.”

“Every musician writes about past relationships. And other than that, I can promise you, I have very little in common with Taylor Swift.”

“When I'm in London, it feels like I am that character who is 'Tom Odell.'”

“I love the band Haim. I would love to do something with them.”

“I grew up in the suburbs of a small town on the south coast where the only opportunity I ever got to wear anything smart was a funeral, so I had never owned a piece of clothing worth more than £40.”

“I would consider myself a perfectionist, yeah. I don't think that is always that helpful, either. Sometimes it's good to be a little more open-minded; you can overthink things when things are actually fine, and it's that moment that you lose it. Looking back, sometimes I've made mistakes from being a perfectionist.”

“One month I'll be completely obsessed with Bob Dylan and the next Arcade Fire. I like early Elton John and David Bowie, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. I listen to a lot of American bands. But I like listening to new bands, too.”

“When I'm at home, I like to put records on, but because I travel a lot, I listen to a lot of music on my iPhone.”

“Everyone in England knows about Burberry, and it kind of represents a standard of being well-dressed... But the nice thing is, they have a lot of clothes, so I still feel like myself whenever I'm wearing their clothes.”

“Songs are about just being totally honest and putting those words to music.”

“I tend to write and record things quite quickly. You can tamper with things for years, and it's artistic laziness sometimes.”

“When I was around 13 or 14, I started getting really into songwriting. And one day, I was rooting through my mum's old tapes and records, and I found 'Grace' by Jeff Buckley. I remember so vividly the first time I put it on. It blew my mind: his voice, the way he could play the guitar. I must have listened to the album over and over for weeks.”

“There's always a part of my brain saying: 'Stop getting comfortable. Don't relax.' Because I find it difficult to write when I'm happy. I have to go out there and get battered up and bruised to write anything. I have to feel something.”

“I've only ever had one doubt about music. It came when I was 11. I hated playing scales.”

“I think I subconsciously put myself in these situations where the girlfriend isn't pleased with me. I'm useless as a boyfriend. That's how I managed to write all these songs.”

“I'm a big Arcade Fire fan. I love the way they make records - 'Funeral' being my favorite.”

“I don't really use Facebook, because I find it a bit intrusive on your personal life.”

“Singing didn't really come naturally to me, I don't think. I had to really work at it. I just kept singing. I never was really worried about it, though, because I was writing songs, and that was the most important thing to me.”

“I have always liked clothes and fashion. And really, being a British male, I am automatically the best dressed person in any room - especially in America.”

“There are a lot of women at my gigs. The first show I headlined was a sea of women, which I can't complain about. I'm pleased these 18-year-old girls like my music.”