I didn't want to be a solo Westlife - covers and ballads - and the reason I signed with Capitol Records was because they wanted me to write songs myself. It was pretty scary, but they put me in a studio in Nashville with some new songwriters, and the results were pretty good.
I'd like to be able to be more topical and timely and more of-the-moment and I think the way to do that is, instead of waiting until I have twelve songs to release all at once, just to release them as I come up with them.
When it comes to books...They're like lifelong friends to me; I need to know they're there, even if I don't check in with them on a regular basis.
There are some pop songs I hate but I can't get them out of my head. Our songs also have the standard pop format: Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, bad solo. All in all, I think we sound like The Knack and the Bay City Rollers being molested by Black Flag and Black Sabbath.
Maybe it will be difficult, but I want to finish school. My parents want me to finish school, and I am pretty sure I will. I will not go to university; I will turn professional when I finish school.
I want to release six songs, let people listen to those, let them chill for a second, do a tour, release another six songs, chill for a second and then take my favorite four, put them on the album, and add some more.
I write songs on a universal basis. I was born out of the earth of Jamaica which I consider to be a part of Atlantis, the sunk continent, but that's my thing. But I write songs on a universal basis, not like Jamaican songs.
I think I'm pretty regular. I try to keep it pretty regular; I go to sleep early. I don't know what distances me from other rap artists - I haven't met a lot of 'em.
You grow as a writer when you learn how to make songs flow from start to finish. That's the best song, when it's such a seamless process to get to this release at the chorus, this euphoric feeling. That's why the Beatles were so good - they did such a good job building so much tension in the beginning to this immaculate release, and then it ends.
I wanted to try to make songs that worked as songs, not just as productions. People wanted me to do a solo acoustic session, they were like "Can you play song on the piano?" and I was like "Not really. It doesn't really work." I wanted to write songs that would work in a variation of instrumentation.
When I'm faced with difficult times, I actually usually remember the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This is a stark reminder on a very regular basis, because we have a lot of personalities here. Politics can be difficult. But I never forget that golden rule, and try to really empathize and understand where someone is coming from before I take action or I say something.
I like songs that you can have both the physical release and an emotional release.
The way we write our solo songs is that we take the emotions that we feel and put them in the lyrics. And we try to put them in the songs.
I start songs all the time. If I weren't so lazy, I would finish them. It's like when I have a deadline I have to. I always feel very lucky that I am forced to make records at certain times. If I was forced to make 2 records a year, I would write twice as many songs. I can't make myself finish something unless I am forced
I really, really want the WWE to be able to perform on a regular basis in China. I think we should be able go to India on a regular basis.
So I'm a young boy in the 1940s growing up, seeing Ralph Bunche on a regular basis, seeing Duke Ellington on a regular basis. We know that these people are famous. They're living in the same community as we live in. They go to the same stores and shops.