My dad is my biggest influence on me as a musician, even though he's not a musician.
Being a musician has actually surrounded and immersed me in pop culture and youth culture from a very young age. But even before I was singing in bands and creating any kind of art, I was always fascinated by pop culture.
Michael Jackson will always be my favorite pop musician; he was for years and years until his death, which was horrible to me. So I like pop culture. But to me, even if it's popular, there is a quality in the music you have to be able to appreciate.
I'd rather be just a Korean musician as opposed to, you know, a K-Pop musician.
I'd been trained as a classical musician, but also as a pop musician. My teacher made sure that everything was available.
I am not a pop musician; I don't want to play bubble-gummy pop stuff.
The perception that I was just a pop star was pushed upon me by the public, and it's very hard to change the public's perception even though I never really pushed aside the musician aspect of my career. After I released 'Fingerprints,' my peers reassured me that I was on a level that I always hoped I would be on.
Even though I was performing all the time as an actress and I was doing all of these plays as a kid, there's a vulnerability about being a musician that you don't get [when] you perform somebody else's work.
There's a stigma attached to 'pop music,' like it's a taboo word. It used to make my skin crawl when people said it, and I'd say, 'I'm not a pop star! I want to be a respected musician!' But I think people have changed the way they think about it.
That's the great thing about music. You can find some '60s pop record and feel completely invigorated by it, even though it's so old.
I had joined Yes in 1971. I was a classically trained musician who had worked with numerous artists as a session musician. I played on David Bowie's 'Life On Mars,' Cat Stevens's 'Morning Has Broken' and even on some Des O'Connor records, though I kept that quiet.
My fans are grown now. They are not expecting me to do the bubblegum pop I did 20 years ago, even though it was pretty substantive. It was saying more than bubblegum pop says today. I am continuing where I left off.
I'm always writing. And, I mean, I always counsel people when they call me a musician: I really do not have the skills of a musician. I really don't think like a musician, though I love music and I perform and sing.
I never minded being thought of as a pop star. People have always thought I wanted to be seen as a serious musician, but I didn't, I just wanted people to know that I was absolutely serious about pop music.
I've always thought about myself as somewhat of a folk musician. I just write words. I don't think I'm even a musician. I don't play a lot of instruments, not really a soloist or anything.
I am a pop and R&B singer. I'm not necessarily an Indian singer or musician. I sing in English, and the music I do blends hip hop, pop, R&B, and soul.