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I was definitely surrounded by music and fashion at a very, very young age.

Growing up, I was picked on a bit; I was pretty heavy-set, and then I was a theater kid. I just felt unpopular and uncool, so I think in my mind I had this idea of fame and being popular and how nice that would be. The reality of it is sometimes it's not nice.

I didn't even listen to any music until I was 19, really. I just wanted to be famous. But I didn't say it to anyone because I was really embarrassed at the thought.

I became popular very young. I viewed myself as just a young actor trying to figure out how to do well, and, you know, making mistakes and learning and growing.

It took me until my teenage years to realize that I was medicating with music. I was pushing back against my stupid school uniform, instructors who called me by my last name and my classmates, who, while friendly enough, were not at all inspiring.

In high school, I was so painfully self-aware that how I thought of myself was probably very different from what other people thought of me. I thought of myself as just painfully awkward and dorky. I had a lot of hair and was kind of weird. I sang a lot in the hallways.

I did absolutely grow up in a world surrounded by people who were always performing and being flamboyant.

I do think there are trends in your life once you've been auditioning long enough. I was the angry teenager and then the sweet victim.

I was a pretty insecure kid, didn't have a lot of friends, and was picked on a lot, and music gave me confidence.