I'm kind of a good girl - and I'm not. I'm a good girl because I really believe in love, integrity, and respect. I'm a bad girl because I like to tease. I know that I have sex appeal in my deck of cards. But I like to get people thinking. That's what the stories in my music do.
I was a hop-around. I hung out with the rockabilly crew, the guys who were trying to be rappers, the funny kids.
My whole thing is to agree to disagree and to have respect because nothing can really be changed and you wouldn't want to ruin their happiness - even if that happiness is ignorance.
I unfortunately still crave chicken McNuggets and bacon, which is the meat candy of the world.
I got this Jesus tattoo on my wrist when I was 18 because I know that it's always going to be a part of me. When I'm playing, it's staring right back at me, saying, 'Remember where you came from.'
I have always been the kid who's asked 'Why?' In my faith, you're just supposed to have faith. But I was always like 'why?'
I have a second chance on life.
I'm still driving along on the pop freeway of life. Thinking even further into the future, I definitely want to make an acoustic record. I want to try lots of different things.
I feel really blessed because of where I come from.
I think people appreciate a songwriter who shows different sides. The whole angst thing is cool, but if that's all you've got, it's just boring. Everything I write, whether it's happy or sad, has a sense of humor to it.
I don't need the Prince Charming to have my own happy ending.
My sister travels with me, and she's the person who keeps me in line, whether I like it or not. I trust her and also have a good, healthy fear of her.
I don't feel like I'm very pop-star lame, but I'm definitely not hipster-cool.
If people want a role model, they can have Miley Cyrus.
I don't want to be above my audience; I want to be one with my audience.
I never live in the present. I'd do interviews and people will say, 'Isn't this great?' or 'Can you believe?' And I would react, like, 'No, I can't believe it because I'm not living in this moment.'
I just want to make it very clear that I come from very humble beginnings, and I worked for everything!
The first songs I wrote were catchy, but the subject matter was God.
I really like to look like a history book. I can look 1940s, I can look 1970s hippie-chic, or sometimes I'll pull that '80s Brooklyn hip-hop kid with the door-knocker earrings.
I have multipersonality disorder - in a very good way, of course - when it comes to my fashion choices.
I just have so much love for my record label.
Santa Barbara is my hood. I mean, it's not much of a hood, but it is definitely like my hood. I claim Santa Barbara like I claim my family. I'm going to be married and buried there.
I love what I do, and when I don't love what I do, I'll make a change.
The records are black boxes for me. Like, if you want to know who I am, my views, my perspective, things I love, things I hate, my convictions, my anthems. I've never let people's opinions affect the way I write.
My parents were strict, but it was the world I lived in. I had no idea there was a world outside.
Sometimes if you want to achieve something great, there will be curveballs. You just have to dodge them every once in a while.
I never took part in the rules and hatred that sometimes go along with religion. But if my parents are happy with what they believe, then I'm happy to stay out of their way. We agree to disagree.
I don't take anything for granted. There are 500 other girls right behind me. And I know that, because I was one of them.
Honesty has always worked for me.
My style icons were Gwen Stefani, when she was in No Doubt, and then Shirley Manson in Garbage.
With songs, I've always pledged to be honest. I write my songs because I've lived them.
I came from a lot of intolerance and prejudice, which aren't necessarily healthy to evolve as a human.
People always ask me, 'What is it that you regret?' And I say, 'nothing, because I could not buy what I've learned.' And I apply those things to my life I learn. And hopefully, hopefully it helps me to be a better human in the future and make better choices.
I got a fantastic person to work me out and get me into really good shape.
When I was younger, I used to be a part of the surfing-and-skateboarding community.
I get a lot of the ideas when I'm resting - either when I'm meditating or getting some kind of work done on my back, like physical therapy or acupuncture. That's where I get my best ideas, maybe because I'm balancing my body.