JON BELLION

We're not as happy as our Instagrams and Twitters make us out to be.

I was raised on 'TRL' and listened to every genre that sounded good to me, from Sum 41 to Jay Z to Band of Horses to J. Dilla to Deathcab for Cutie to Pharrell.

You grow up listening to Eminem; your parents don't let you listen to it - you gotta sneak into a car to listen to this guy rap. He changed my whole life, my whole perspective on music, so to more or less co-sign something that I've done is the ultimate childhood goal.

I think honest lyrics help somebody say, 'I was struggling with this, but if Jon goes through that, too, and if Jon's telling me that his life isn't as good as it seems on his Instagram,' that helps somebody in their day to day.

When I want to get inspired, I'll put a Pixar movie on silent and listen to Nas.

As long as I don't have to go back to the catering hall and wait tables anymore, I'm very happy.

'Translations Through Speakers' was literally, I'm translating very spottily what my aspirations are.

If I could be generous and move forward and spread my feelers business-wise and also creatively, that's the best position to put myself in.

You can't really force kids to like music. I'm a firm believer in an organic fan base.

Originally, 'The Monster' started out as this indie, Florence And The Machine, tribal-y, almost Spanish-esque dance record.

At the end of the day, we want love, and we want to feel loved.

I'd watch Pixar movies for, like, six hours, back-to-back. I'd watch 'Finding Nemo' twice a week, back-to-back-to-back, three times in a row.

I'm not afraid to have my music digestible by different ages.

I always want to approach records from where it feels very graspable. You know what the song's about, but it's presented to you in a way that's like, 'I never heard something like this before,' but it doesn't push you away.

I used to work at a catering hall in Hauppauge. Anybody who works as a server in a catering hall, more power to you, but I wanted to make music.

People don't realize I make records eight or nine months before they come out. I'm directing the videos; I have a lot of work to do. I'm very involved in all that stuff creatively.

I was sick of waiting for people to jump on hooks for songs I produced. So I tried singing myself, and I haven't looked back.

I loved everything, but it was Kanye West who really changed everything for me.

The first 12 bars of 'Pre-Occupied' explains my entire career.

I just never really though you could or couldn't listen to a certain type of music.

I came to the realization that I'm a child of God, and that's my identity. If this all goes tomorrow, I don't have the proverbial rug under me that can be pulled out. I'm taken care of, and there's someone who loves me.

The way Ben Gibbard paints a picture, you feel like, 'I was there that day with him.' You really feel the way he paints pictures and speaks and talks. It's almost like talk-singing. Paul Simon does that very well as well. He's a huge influence of mine.

I wanna make music; that's all I wanna do.

When you get a song placed with two of the top stars in the world, like Rihanna and Eminem, especially as a new writer, they're gonna take a huge chunk of your publishing. That's just the way the business is. I'm not complaining.

My artistry is my baby.