I say what I feel. I try to be tactful, but I can't not say what I feel. I have a really big problem with that.
I learned a long time ago to be honest when I'm talking to other artists. Up-and-coming artists used to come and say something, they would have a demo reel, and I would try to tell them the truth. I don't go up and say something unless I really feel it.
To be absolutely honest, what I feel really bad about is that I don't feel worse. There's the ineffectual liberal's problem in a nutshell.
Did you ever have something to say and feel as if the whole side of the wall wouldn't be big enough to say it on, and then sit down on the floor and try to get it onto a sheet of charcoal paper?
I write what I write, say what I say, 'cause I feel what I feel, and if I did it different, it would make me a liar! So I'd rather be an honest person than a good liar.
If I feel compelled or feel that I really need to say something at a certain time, I'll say it. But more do than not; I'm trying to lead by example.
The honest truth is no, I don't feel like I arrived. I don't feel like I'm worthy. My publicist says I'm not supposed to say that, but I don't feel I'm there yet.
I have to be honest and say that I never really feel like there's one person that I really want to cook for. I just want my food to always get better and always be evolving and for there to always be movement in what I make. I would say I strive for that more than anything else.
Authenticity is also about the courage and the vulnerability to say, "Yeah, I'll try it. I feel pretty uncomfortable and I feel a little vulnerable, but I'll try it!"
I try to really say what I think is happening, and I'm pretty forthright. I obviously hold back some things. But pretty much, what I see and feel, I say on the air.
As for my relationship to Beethoven, I admire people who can say what they really think. It's as though he's saying, 'That's how I feel about the world, and I don't care what people may say.' His music is pure and honest. Beethoven never pretends to be anybody else.
There is such a problem with racism, so to actually just say it and have so many people of colour message me and thank me for saying something... I remember when I used to cry about it to my manager I used to be like: 'Why do I feel like this?' and she'd never say it, and I'd never say it. It was really strange.
If I'm writing with or for someone else, it just has to feel true and real for them. It has to feel like they're being honest. If it's for myself, it's the same thing. It has to be something I can mean when I say it.
You do try to write songs that you feel like people can relate to and you try to be as honest as you can so that people hear your records and they feel like, "Oh, my god. This is exactly how I feel. I went through this."
What I do as an art form is try to make people feel good and if I do try to make them feel bad, it's for a reason. There's something I am trying to say.
There's a way to speak your mind. You don't just go off and say whatever you feel is right. You have to say what you feel is right and say it if it's something that works for the team.