Artist Pressure Quotes

After putting out songs with 26 million views on YouTube, your life changes a little bit. Suddenly everyone's like, 'Where's the album?'

Ever since I'm done with Zim everyone thinks that I'm going to go back to comics. I've been flooded with emails asking me if I'm working on the new Johnny over and over again.

Sometimes people stop me on the street and they say 'when are you going to make the next 'Zanaka' and it's what I really didn't want to do.

I've felt like my last name put pressure on me as an artist. If you're going to call yourself "Legend," you'd better make some good-ass music.

Everyone gets that second album syndrome.

Back in the day, fans wrote letters to groups - you'd get them, although it could take a while. Now, artists can go online and there's discussions about what you should and shouldn't be doing. The minute you announce that you're recording an album, thousands of people are telling you what that album should be.

There is a lot of pressure on pop stars, and I think a lot of it is the pressure that we put on ourselves. In our minds, we build up these huge, huge standards that we think people want from us, and actually, when you break it down, people just want you to make music and perform to the best of your ability, but anxiety can stop you from doing that.

I do feel pressure from the outside world a little bit just because everybody wants new music, which is really nice. It just proves that everybody likes what I'm doing. But at the same time, I feel like it's important to just chill and experience things and really make the songs true to me.

I think too many artists from my era tend to just stamp out a record.

You're only as good as your last record and you could get dropped.

In the past, there has always been so much pressure about carrying a show and promoting a record.

Every artist has a moment where they think about quitting music for a moment because it's scary.

I'm not one of those artists who doesn't want to play their most popular songs.

As a new artist there's always outside influences trying to tell you how to make a song better for radio and how to do your hair.

I feel like the expectations have gone up. It's not a complaint, but it's a little intimidating. People are like, 'Oh, you're on Matador. It's kind of a legendary label - you're going to have to live up to all those other bands.' I guess it's not that explicit.

When have you ever heard of a cantor or any artist turning anyone down when he is strongly urged to perform?

I think, for every artist, the second album is the most terrifying one to put out because it can either boost your career, and everybody can't wait until your third album, or the second one is terrible, and 'He probably hit a plateau on his first one.'

When you get a certain amount of media attention, I think people are like, "Where's your other album?"

I was afraid of the sophomore slump even before our first record came out. It was a very real fear because I'd watched so many bands I'd loved in the past not deliver. I knew it was a very real thing. I didn't know why it happens, but I'd been thinking about it a lot.

In the '70s, you had to come up with an album every year whether you were ready or not.

Fans want more; they want you to perform in their living room. That's the nature of the beast.

Bands are always told, 'Nobody wants to hear your new stuff - just stick with the meat and potatoes - that's what people come for.' That's only half-true. I know if I went to see U2, I would be thrilled if they did 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For,' but I'm equally as thrilled to hear their new stuff.

Some records are going to be bigger than others. You're always going to be compared to your biggest record.

No one could have ever prepared me for the whole world judging me and comparing to other artists. But what's most important is that you have to be a good person and care about others and carry yourself well.

Since I am an artist, I know the media can pick you apart.