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Hit songs are mysterious and slippery beasts; few artists have a lock on them. This means that many people, like me, have become fans of songs rather than fans of artists.

I find so many songwriters today are missing an element... either the production is amazing but the songs aren't, or it's the other way around.

I actually have heard of acts who only do their new album, and don't do their hits. I've never been in that mind set.

People don't really listen to albums anymore. They just find good songs.

Great songwriting will never die - it's in the DNA of music - but what's new and exciting is pairing that with new sounds that technology is enabling us to make.

The artists in country music who stopped having hits are the ones who were led into something that wasn't them.

On the radio there's only a certain amount of artists: Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kanye, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, T.I., Mary J Blige, Alicia Keys. Other artists are achieving things that are really special, they have a hard time getting people's attention. Music has been just a little bit lacklustre.

I work hard at that, but the fact that there are a lot of good songs means there are also a lot of really bad songs I've written that you never hear.

I feel there must be an enormous amount of really talented songwriters out there who can't sing.