Quotes About Artistry

Singles are for people that want to chart - I'm measuring my success by how well I connect with people.

Other artists, they write 13 songs, and hopefully one or two of them are successful singles. And the other 11, for the most part, are filler.

'Reflection' and 'Going Nowhere' would've been great singles because that's the exact sound that we wanted to achieve.

Usually I get inspired by singles and not artists, but I love Macklemore.

Your favourite songs by your favourite bands are never the singles. It's when they've done exactly what they wanted without any compromise and not worried about the reaction.

I can sign things that I love that may not be selling millions of singles but that are just awesome music.

I question what emotion Manilow touches. People are entertained by him. But are they emotionally moved? I don't believe anything that Barry Manilow sings.

Everything sounds better when Billie sings it, so the only ones I'll keep for myself are ones that really feel just super personal to me in their content, like this is my life story and maybe not anybody else's.

I can just be a Christian who sings mainstream music instead of having to be a Christian who has to somehow just sing Christian music.

Mary J. Blige has made the most improvement, to me, and the depth of the spirit and the soul in her music, the way she sings, gives her that 'it' factor.

My brother sings. My brother is a singer-songwriter. His name is Parker Ainsworth. He changed his last name to his middle name.

Gaga is a gorgeous singer, and when she sings a great ballad, I get goose bumps.

Everybody who sings with me has to sing ranchero. Roberto Carlos had to sing ranchero, Vikki Carr had to record ranchero. Celia Cruz came in with a mariachi.

You rarely find someone who sings really well and who produces really well; it's a problem, and I just think it's a missing link in the music scene.

My favorite electric guitar would have to be my Duesenberg. I've named her 'Dolores,' and she sings like an operatic menace.

I always wanted to be known as an actor who sings and not a singer who acts.

Everyone has a black guy inside them. Mine is a Cuban sonero who is 80-something years old and sings better than I do. His name is Medoro Madera. Medoro has been recording since 1997.

I'm still the same guy who gets in front of the mic and just sings.

I'd love to write a song that someone else sings that can actually sing really well.

I'm someone who has a singular goal in making films: I want to tell a story. There are certain stories that I want to tell.

I personally like to see films that are the work of as singular a consciousness as possible.

Whether they are actual poets or their music exemplifies a poetic sensibility, generally speaking, the Americana artist shuns commercial compromise in favor of a singular vision. Which resonates with me.

The thing I hate most is false modesty. The artists who are, like, 'Oh, you know, I'm really not that good. Oh, I can't believe I'm here.' I find it vaguely sinister, even.

When making music I sink myself into the process as deeply as I can and forget all of the success.