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I think I began to like writing a lot more, and to be a better writer, when I did it for a while alone. It made me a little more confident about my style.

To think that my heart and my words and my music saved somebody's life, it takes a while to just sink in with me. But it proves to me that music is powerful.

I think for an artist it's really important to have experiences, and I've had a lot of those. It's definitely inspired my lyrics and my style, even down to what I wear.

Great classic music that I've been turned on to has not only inspired and influenced me, but it has had an effect on my songwriting.

Everything in life influences my music. I've always used songwriting as a means to share what I think is profound.

I don't write anything down - it comes from my head and my soul and my heart and my pain. That allows me to make the best music I can make.

Just knowing that through my music I actually inspire people is amazing for me and I find it very heartwarming.

Having listened to great songwriters like James Taylor and Carole King, I felt there was nothing new that was coming out that really represented me and the way I felt. So I started writing my own stuff.

My music touches on things I am concerned with in my own life - the idea of a woman's role in society, sexuality, desire, monogamy, fantasy and glamour. That's what keeps me alive, and if I couldn't keep creating that, I'd fall into a bit of heap.

Both Springsteen and Michael Jackson, who had these huge productions, could always scale them back down to just a song and a melody. All of that influences me. I also try to be a fictional writer, and sometimes I get close, but the things that resonate the most with me - and with everyone else - is what's real.