Quotes from Mike Posner

Tons of people inspire my music, and now when I do an interview, I'm scared to say who they are.

My team and I live by 3 words: RELATE. LOVE. INSPIRE

In my short career, I tend not to repeat myself. I have no interest in redoing something. Sometimes that makes people angry, and maybe it's not the best thing for me commercially. But it's the best thing for me artistically, and it's the best thing for my heart.

I wanted to see if I could be happy without a lot of stuff. And what I found out was, yeah, I really could.

When I recorded 'Cooler Than Me', I had been singing for like, three months at the most. I was just a producer experimenting with my voice on tracks, and now I'm, like, a really good singer in a legit way.

I wanted to break into producing, so I would peddle my tracks and beats to labels. I always heard the same thing: They liked the music, but it didn't fit any of the artists on their roster.

I grew up making music in my mum's basement, and I used to tell her I was going down there to work, and she'd say, 'That's not work. Go get a real job!' It took me signing a record deal to change her opinion!

My favorite Duke player ever is Steve Wojciechowski. He called me one day congratulating me on my success thus far, and I was like,'I appreciate it, but man, please don't congratulate me. I know when you guys start the season, you're not just trying to be 10-10 or ACC champions, you're trying to win it all.'

I'm kind of like a rapper trapped in a singer's body.

I co-produced 'Boyfriend' by Justin Bieber and worked on Labrinth's album, so I've been keeping busy.

My earliest musical memory is of my older sister playing me Nirvana's 'Nevermind' on headphones in the back of the car on a road trip.

I think it should be socially acceptable for men to like 'You're Beautiful' by James Blunt.

I try to tell the truth in my lyrics; write good melodies and make hard beats. So, basically, I just combine hip-hop with melody. That's how I classify myself.

Some of my early musical memories are attached to grunge.

I remember with my first album, I was so scared of messing it up, of blowing the opportunity, that I blew it.

What I'm trying to do is maintain some mindfulness about being popular - I wasn't so great at that last time around.

I think - for a period of time, I did think art was there to serve me, but it took me a minute to reset.

Just be yourself and be upfront about your expectations and desires. Don't be ambiguous and play hard to get. It doesn't work. You'll end up in the friend zone.

If anyone has listened to my stuff over the years, they know I tend not to do the same thing twice.

I was constantly looking for things outside of myself to make me feel good, and I think now that feeling can come from the inside, and that's why I meditate now twice a day.

I've remixed lots of other people's songs, from Adele to Electric Light Orchestra to Beyonce, so when my record label said, 'Why don't you give 'Ibiza' to someone to remix?' I said, 'Sure,' because I like the idea of people reimagining art and making something new out of it.

I hated the thought of being just a songwriter.

People like me for my songwriting and production, not my singing.

I know it sounds corny, but I look for a girl that has a beautiful personality on the inside.