SNOH AALEGRA

This lipstick by MAC called 'Kinda Sexy' has been a favorite for years now and is one of my essential beauty products.

In my music, I bare it all; it's really naked.

Emotionally, I've always worn my heart on my sleeve.

I'm such a spiritual person and in Sweden it's a bit taboo to be too open with your spirituality; they always think it's a bit weird.

We have a huge immigration population in Sweden, but when I was younger, I grew up in a small town and, at one point, I was the only foreigner in my class. I really felt different, and I thought I looked different. Sometimes it was a good thing, sometimes I felt insecure.

I like to tell stories in my writing but I definitely use my own life experiences to tell that story.

I'm definitely inspired by Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, James Brown, Lauryn Hill.

I just want people to feel what I feel when I hear music that I love.

I'm from Sweden, where it's winter, like, half the year. And it's dark - we barely have any daylight.

I wrote my first song at the age of 9 and of course it didn't make any sense.

I've been obsessed with music since I was a little girl. I knew I wanted to be a singer when I was 9 years old.

I grew up looking up a lot to '90s supermodels like Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell. I just thought those women were such cool role models because they had a good body ideal, too.

Drake is super versatile. He always has a lot of emotional moments on his albums.

Sometimes I'm very feminine - I wear tight skirts and pumps.

This fragrance 'Parisienne' by YSL was my fave back when I lived in London.

I speak three languages - English is my third language - so I take my time with lyrics. It's almost like having a conversation with somebody. If it's really important, you want to think about what you wanna say with that person, especially if it's for the last time.

Me and John Mayer met via a mutual connect, we were by the studio and he asked If I could play him my music. When he heard 'Under The Influence,' he asked if he could be a part of the track and of course, we made that happen.

My heart is always listening to the music I grew up with from the '70s and '80s to early '90s.

With 'Feels,' I was in a really long relationship with somebody, so the songs were about that.

I have both Swedish and Iranian cultures ingrained in me, so that's always there. Plus my love of the U.S. began early on. But growing up in Sweden as one of the few people of color around was not easy by any means.

I've experienced industry politics and... people telling me I'm never going to make it. I'll never listen. I'm doing me.

I feel like nowadays it's almost become a corny thing to say that you want to be a role model or do something good for the world, but the artists I've looked up to - like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Prince - were about something.

Above all, I'm very genuine with my music. I would never sing about something that I can't stand for.

In Sweden we have a jazz festival, and I would try to see all these people like Angie Stone there when I was younger.

I don't like flying... it's a fear of mine.