Positivity, confidence, and persistence are key in life, so never give up on yourself.Collection: Life
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.Collection: Mom
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.'Collection: Teen
Even though I was super personal with 'American Teen,' I want to tap in and not just tell my own stories but tell the stories of other people - so that I can help as many people as possible.Collection: Teen
I feel like baggy pants are cool.Collection: Cool
I'm really excited about what the future holds and to grow as an individual and as an artist.Collection: Future
I was told I wasn't good enough, but I just chose not to listen.
I would classify myself as an individual. That's what I try to stay true with - being myself, 100 percent.
Love crosses all boundaries.
I was very confused with where my life was heading, but I knew that whatever I did, music was going to be involved.
I knew if I worked hard enough that I'd be successful and eventually give opportunities to others.
I knew what I wanted and where I wanted to go. I always wanted to entertain and help others.
I suffer from anxiety, moments of depression. I'm in my head so much, and I'm thinking so much, I'm playing a tug-of-war within my mind.
I've felt like an outcast most of my life, being in multiple high schools and being a military child.
I didn't feel like I had a home until I moved to El Paso.
I can't play an instrument to save my life. But when I'm creating, and when I'm making music, I feel like I'm the head of the orchestra, and I'm just waving my wand, and something is created.
You're not a real fan if you don't know how to say my name.
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.
For me, love is endless, and love has no age limit.
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 use my clothing choices as a way to express how I feel.
I'm an African-American man with an Afro who isn't your typical athlete - who wasn't as masculine as other guys.
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.'
Kendrick Lamar deserves a Grammy. He's one of the biggest, most influential rappers of my generation.
Uzi is insanely good and super creative.
And even though I'm famous, I still go through things that young people go through.
I wrote 'Saved' as a form of therapy to get over the fact that I had moved and lost so much of myself.
The first songs I made brought me to the Grammys. I was a five-times nominated teenager off voice memos and songs that were clearly recorded off different mics.
It's crazy that people are looking to me as a symbol like, 'Oh, he's the voice of the youth. He's this and this and that.' I feel like there's a lot of pressure that comes with it, when people look to you as the face of something.
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.
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.
There's been a time where I was like, I wanna be a folk singer; no, I wanna sing soul. I want to sing classical music. I want to sing R&B. I want to be on Broadway. I just wanna sing. Whatever comes out of my mouth, that's what I want to do.
I've got to thank the city of El Paso for standing behind me.
I just love matching sets. Tops and bottoms that are the same color are awesome to me, because you can get them in so many different colors - neon colors.
Once you're comfortable with the way that you're dressing, you express yourself a lot more, and you're just able to have a lot more fun.
Combing your hair after a long time is terrible.
Being vulnerable was difficult for me at first because I've said things in my songs about how I felt that I never told anybody.
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.'
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.
I try to take all of my experiences in and not take anything for granted.
To be recognized and accepted by my musical peers is truly an honor.
I'd love to collaborate with Frank Ocean. He's one of my favorite artists of all time.
My peers inspire me, especially being a newer artist.
If you don't text your relationship partner - even if you just saw them in person - it's like you're doing something wrong.
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.
With 'Location' and all the other songs around it, my music turned into therapy for others. And that's something I really love and am blown away by.
A lot of people think teenagers haven't gone through anything in their lives - they're not even 20 years old yet. But a twenty-something can go through the same type of experience or heartbreak that a 50-year-old can go through, so why does age matter?
I would never have been able to find my voice if I didn't have music education.
In my home, we listened to music all the time. I was raised through music, and I've been interested in it since I was three.
I've been singing since I could talk correctly.