I tend to latch on to things pretty obsessively for awhile. I listened to Russian pop music exclusively for almost five years. It's weird.
What I loved most about 'Rhythm Nation' were the uniforms and the perfect group choreography.
I'm mainstream, and I have pretty chart-tastic tastes. I don't often veer away from a big melodic song with big words for big stadiums.
There are not many musicians from India who are working internationally in pop. My aim is to change that and show the world that we have so much more to offer.
I've loved Michael Jackson since the minute I was born. He's probably the most talented person ever. He was able to create such an amazing career and be probably the biggest star we've ever had.
I think the Beatles is one band that, if I'm working on a song arrangement or if I have some idea for a song, and there's a little bit of a Beatles quality to it, I never avoid that. I always will steer into it.
You aspire to be as great as Michael Jackson is as an artist. I don't think any artist in pop, rock or hip-hop has ever done it any bigger than him. You know what I mean? He's the man.
I love Usher's 'Confessions.'
Nirvana, Weezer and Smashing Pumpkins, all those bands, at their core, are just really incredible pop music and I think a lot of that stuff has deeply affected the way I approach music.
Lyrics over some nice beats - that's what the people want from us.
I've always been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde. I always feel that you should keep singles as commercial as possible so that the people can walk down the road and whistle a song. But on the other hand on albums I think you can afford to show people what you can do.
I actually think that Republican administrations are better for music. The Reagan era was such a great era for punk and indie rock.
I really felt like 'Chandelier' was a big pop song. But we weren't sure what would happen if I wasn't willing to show my face and do promo and go on tour and do the traditional kind of pop strategy. So I had no expectations.
My first two records were influenced by the Beatles and the Beach Boys.
For more than 10 years, Daniel Snaith has been playing mad scientist with pop and psychedelic music. As Manitoba, and more recently as Caribou, he's pushed the genres' limits with electronics and studio trickery.
My mom was a folk singer and Celtic harpist. My dad was in a barbershop quartet and my great grandma was an opera singer. As I grew up, I discovered pop music and Top 40 radio, but it was in the '90s, so music was very different then - it was really lyrical.
From the beginning, I've always had a knack for catchy melodies. But I went through a period when I was trying to be rock n' roll and have a rock n' roll attitude. I was fighting my nature by trying to play really hard and sing really hard. But at a certain point, I realized that I loved syrupy pop music with tons of harmony.
I love me some Mariah Carey. I grew up on that because of my mother.
If you're a pop singer, you don't need to evolve. You just get a set together, have some hit songs and play them over and over.
The Righteous Brothers got so heavy because of the dramatic hit records like 'Lovin' Feelin.' Bobby and I just felt like we were a couple of Orange County guys who were just having a great time singing rock n' roll, and then, boy, it became something else.
So the Madonna thing, I wrote a song with Diplo, she liked it, tweaked it and then made it her own and it became 'Hold Tight.'
My first concert was Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey.
Honestly, a lot of pop records have beatboxing. Timbaland beatboxes on his tracks. Justin Timberlake beatboxes.
Pop music will never be low brow.
My earliest influence was Quincy Jones. I thought 'The Wiz' soundtrack was the most amazing thing I'd ever heard. It was my first record and you had Michael Jackson, Ted Ross, Nipsey Russell and Diana Ross on it. I even took it to show and tell in third grade!
