Even at my lowest point, when I've wanted to give up, I know that I have to believe in myself because I'm all that I have.

I love to glow, and it's important for me to have a good highlighter to brighten up.

I'm confident in who I am, and I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm just being myself: being comfortable with my body, comfortable with my sound, and I'm figuring out who I am.

Everyone has their own style. It's unique; no one person's style is wrong.

I like to mix the street look with classy and sexy. I call it 'hood chic.'

Life is too short to be scared and not take risks. I'd rather be the person that's like, 'I messed up,' than, 'I wish I did that.'

For me, as a kid desperate to make music, I thought the only way I could do it was to try to be a superstar - which is a fun thing to be, but it can be exhausting and degrading.

You can tell if something feels special. But there are so many moving parts involved in making the song a hit. The radio has to deliver, the management has to deliver in terms of booking the right promotions... just being a good song isn't enough.

The bullying was so bad that I got to go to the arts high school instead.

My success happened pretty late in life. I can't even believe it happened.

I love to give the song away - it's so exciting - where, I think, a lot of younger songwriters, they struggle with that. And it's a big struggle, where they want the shine and they want people to know that it was their idea and it was their doing. But luckily, I've been through that, so I can just focus on helping other people do their thing.

In every school, there's always the kid who gets it the worst, and I was, for sure, that kid. Every time you had to get in a line that was boys and girls, it was like my worst nightmare. A lot of kids I know got made fun of for being gay; that was not my issue: I was just called a girl endlessly.

My existence is rock n' roll.

I thought I was a superstar at 12.

When we were starting out as a band in New York, we played a concert at a small club early on and asked Lady Gaga to open for us. We were big fans, and she had the same kind of approach to music as we did: not taking everything so seriously and just having fun.

I wouldn't want to write a song in a pair of sneakers. I think it would be a horrible song.

Under-sung vocals can be very sexy because of the intimacy, but they can be just as heartbreaking for the same reason.

People are always quick to judge SPW because of the fact that I wear heels. For me, I just have no choice. This is just how I feel beautiful and how I feel awesome. I would just be so uncomfortable onstage if I was wearing something else.

I just didn't really relate to Kurt Cobain. There was nothing very glamorous about him.

Before anything else, my favorite thing as a fan of music was to make up my own story as to what it means.

My artist career failed pretty miserably multiple times.

A lot of writers don't know what it feels like to get on stage. They don't understand the weight that songs can carry. I got a chance to play all these shows. I got a chance to define myself through music, so when it comes to helping other people figure out what they should say, I've been through it.

I like to make glamorously informed songs for glamorously intelligent people.

I really do pride myself on being able to help other people tell their stories and bring out the best in them. But I still, every song I'm writing, I still need to relate to it. I still need to find my true self in it, or else it'll feel dishonest. I mean, everything has a queer meaning as far as I'm concerned.