Quotes from Khalid

I had originally planned to do musical theatre and be on Broadway, but then my love for poetry also set in. Once that happened, I became torn between a career as an English teacher or a music teacher.

I would classify myself as an individual. That's what I try to stay true with - being myself, 100 percent.

As an artist, I never want to be a moment. I want to be a legacy, and I want my music to touch people for years to come.

I've met so many new fans and amazing people while traveling to new cities and locations throughout 2017 in support of my album 'American Teen.'

Art is fluid, and it travels. You have to let music take you where it wants to take you. You can't necessarily be the controller.

Positivity, confidence, and persistence are key in life, so never give up on yourself.

We forget that when you grow up, there are a lot of people who are in the same position as you. The reason we forget is because there's not really a true voice that talks from the perspective of youth.

I got joked on. You had people saying I was stupid, that I was lame, that I was feminine, this and that. I was like, 'OK, but I'm still gonna be successful, and you're not.'

I always try to be nice. I never want to be that person that anyone perceives as being rude or disrespectful, 'cause that's not me at all.

My mom is my biggest inspiration by far. She inspires me on a daily basis. I remember hearing her sing around the house, and I was like, 'Mom, you belong on TV. You're a superstar.'

My mom raised a self-aware kid. I wasn't like the typical alpha male. I wasn't afraid to sing, you know? I wasn't afraid to be in musicals.

I'm an African-American man with an Afro who isn't your typical athlete - who wasn't as masculine as other guys.

It wasn't like I was specifically wanting to write songs about technology. It's just what I lived, what I was experiencing growing up.

I didn't feel like I had a home until I moved to El Paso.

When I started writing, I said, 'I don't know how to do this. I don't know if it sounds good.' Coming from being an underdog or being told that something wasn't for you over and over repeatedly, it took a lot out of me. It took a lot of my self-confidence.

It's my job to accept my youth, to spread my story, to let people know who I am as an individual, because there's so many people who are blinded and think less of me because of my skin color.

I gotta spread all this love that I have for myself, I gotta spread it to everybody else, because my positivity is going to change at least one person's day a day, and that's all that matters to me.

I feel like we go through different stages of love. When you get a little bit older, love starts to feel different, but you see that love has always been there.

I'd love to collaborate with Frank Ocean. He's one of my favorite artists of all time.

My mom and I, we have trust within each other because at one time in our lives, we were kind of all that we had, you know? My mom had me, and I had her.

I've felt like an outcast most of my life, being in multiple high schools and being a military child.

I definitely associate songs with the places that I've been.

I've got to thank the city of El Paso for standing behind me.

El Paso is where I started. I don't feel like I'd be making the music I'm making now if I hadn't gone there.