Quotes from Manika

Alanis Morissette - I love how she's not afraid to say what she wants to say. Love it or hate it, she's going to say it. And her vocals are crazy; they're amazing, and I also love how her music is really organic.

Growing up, my parents always played artists like Alanis Morissette, Aerosmith and Michael Jackson, so I just grew to love their music. And I just love so many diverse artists for different reasons; some for their instruments, some for their edge, some for their vocals.

'Just Can't Let You Go' is a song about passion. It's when you have such a strong passion and love for someone or something that your heart just can't let it go. Whether it's a special boy, girl, or that feeling you get when performing on stage or playing a sport. For me, my passion is music. I just can't let it go!

When I'm on stage, it's like a different world ... me connecting with the audience. It's a surreal experience.

I always have melodies flowing in my head - whether I'm just at home, at the mall, at a restaurant or wherever. I'm always humming along to the random melodies that form in my head.

I always have melodies flowing in my head - whether I'm just at home, at the mall, at a restaurant or wherever. I'm always humming along to the random melodies that form in my head. My friends always ask me, 'What are you singing?' and I'll be like, 'I don't know!'

My book 'The Exciting Adventures of Boo' was first published when I was fifteen. It is a children's book with ten different stories. In each story, the main character Boo learns a lesson - one of the ten most important lessons I learned as a kid. I also donated all the money from my books I personally sold to my local ASPCA Animal Shelter.

When I'm about to go on stage, and I look out and just see the fans filled out in the arena, all pumped up and screaming - that gives me butterflies! I just love that feeling, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, it's gonna be a great show!'

I am pop, but like to shake things up a bit - funky things people wouldn't expect.

I get my inspiration from everyday life, things people my age are going through in life, good and bad experiences.

It would be pretty awesome to hear Eminem singing 'I'm a Good Girl'. Haha! Love Eminem!

My iPod will shuffle from rap to pop to rock to classical ... It gets confusing!

The number one thing I look for is personality. For me, the personality of someone makes them more and more attractive over time ... and for those with bad personalities, less and less attractive. I look for honesty, intelligence, kindness, and a good work ethic, to name a few.

I love hearing strong, confident beats in music because I love to dance. At the same time, melody is really important to me because I love singing.

Music has always been my passion for as long as I can remember.

I can't even imagine life without music!

Growing up, I was so shy, but it was weird because I was the complete opposite on stage. I was just free to be myself.

I get butterflies in my stomach before I perform. I love them! They let me know I'm ready to perform, that I'm ready to rock out on stage.

The thing that can get kind of annoying is, when you travel so much, how hectic it gets. I was being interviewed once - it was a phone interview - and they said, 'Where are you right now?' and I didn't know where I was.

It's really important to me that my sound is a combination of beats and melody. I love hearing strong, confident beats in music because I love to dance. At the same time, melody is really important to me because I love singing.

If I weren't a performer, I would be still be writing and songwriting. Plus, I also really want to get into producing.

Nothing can stop a great song, so just keep songwriting.

I've always loved both writing and songwriting. The journey is fascinating to me.

I'm part Filipino, part Japanese, part Chinese, part Malaysian, and part Spanish, and all those people, they love their karaoke. So whenever my family got together, we'd all karaoke.