There is a lot of California in my... sound, and a ton of it is the laid-back nature of Southern Californians and the beach.
I don't really see why some of those topical lines have to be crossed to get a point across. I want a mother and daughter, a teenage girl and her mom, to be able to come to the show and both enjoy it on the same level.
My parents' example of a loving, caring relationship, I think, has affected my songwriting a ton and allowed me to start writing love songs that people could connect to without sounding like you're being cheesy, because they're coming from a real place, something that I saw coming up. I think they're a huge influence on my songwriting.
Gavin DeGraw - his first record is the reason that I wanted to start writing music. The way that he says something that everybody says on a regular basis but he says it differently. It makes you kind of perk up and listen.
My first concert was Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey.
We've gotten to play shows where I'm the headliner, so people are buying tickets to come see me, and that's when you really learn, 'Okay, who's listening to this music?' That and social media. But I couldn't feel luckier about the fan base that is starting to grow... People have just been super, super supportive and awesome.