Quotes from Daya

I'm a quarter Indian; my grandfather's originally from New Delhi.

It's always pretty amazing to hear your own voice on the radio.

I would love to collaborate with Chance the Rapper. I love his lyrics and his sound and everything.

The 'Chainsmokers' found me early on, before anyone knew about 'Hide Away,' and reached out. I heard the demo for 'Don't Let Me Down' and loved it.

I am still very independent in my real life, and that's why I'm always trying to get out of relationships prematurely.

In relationships, I'm usually the one who's like, 'Oh, I don't need this right now. I don't need commitment. I can do well on my own. I'm independent,' and all this stuff, and I realized recently that that was making me really closed off to relationships and just closed off to anyone no matter who they were.

I should be, right now, a normal 17-year-old sitting in class in high school. Instead, I'm recording, and it's so exciting for me. I can't imagine anything I'd rather be doing right now.

I have four sisters at home, and both my mom and dad worked, and both of them took care of us. It wasn't like my mom was fully domestic, or my dad was fully domestic: they were just equals in their relationship. So I grew up with the perspective that women should be pursuing their dreams and not have to depend on a guy.

I think I have always been a hard worker in school and in sports and everything. Growing up, my parents encouraged me to do that from day one.

I have a lot of creative control, so I can decide what I want to wear, what I want my brand to look like, what I want my songs to sound like, so I don't sound like some fake artist that people can't relate to.

Music was always a huge part of me, but I always did it on the side. I didn't even take any music classes in high school... it was more of an extracurricular thing.

When 'Hide Away' first started gaining a bit of momentum, I was visiting at least two radio stations per day - sometimes in different cities - to spread the word about the song. It was a hustle, but so worth it.

Write down everything you can think of, no matter how stupid it seems. I always write down my thoughts throughout the day. Sometimes good things come out of it, and I'll find an idea to develop into a song, so my best advice is to try and draw inspiration from everyday things.

I'm a classically trained jazz pianist - I've been playing since I was 3 years old.

I have been taking voice and singing lessons since age 10 and originally got into it because I was really interested in musical theater. After writing my first couple of songs and performing at age 14, I knew that I really wanted to be a singer.

I've always just kind of been a single-minded person.

I remember looking out into the sea of phone lights as Chris Martin belted 'Yellow' on the piano and deciding that that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

My music reflects my strong belief in equal opportunities for all - specifically young girls and women. Many, many children do not have anywhere near the opportunities that we kids did in my community - great schools, public safety, etc.

I started traveling, performing, doing photo shoots and working on new music. At the same time, I was juggling homework and trying not to miss out on too many experiences during my junior and senior years - like prom and graduation.

My dream collaboration would probably be Sam Smith.

I try to share a lot of my life on Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, everything. I really like interacting with fans on Twitter and answering their questions and just getting to know them because it's cool for them to have people who are connecting with my music reach out and show interest.

I think Labrinth is an amazing writer and an amazing singer. His voice is just so magnetic. There are so many people that I would work with inside and outside of pop.

It was so much fun to work with the cast on 'School of Rock'. I was a little nervous because it was my first acting gig, but it was such a great experience.

Believe in yourself, go after your dreams, and don't let anyone put you in a box.