In 1999, I just came out of putting out the song 'Vivrant Thing' and 'Breathe and Stop' off the 'Amplified' album. Clive Davis signed me to Arista.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Van Halen was a huge influence on me, and 'Eruption' was the song that really leaped off that first Van Halen album.
In many ways, Viv and I were the only ones who were really songwriters.
The song This Kiss was definitely my breakthrough song. After that, Breathe was my breakthrough album.
After two years in the songwriting world, I wrote 'All About That Bass.' L.A. Reid heard it and signed me as an artist.
I played drums on Keith Carradine's first record.
My girlfriend at the time convinced me to send these songs to Cavity Search. When they wanted to put out my record I was totally shocked.
In 1994, I started touring again and I recorded two albums for Chesky Jazz.
But for the first time, we haven't made a huge leap forward in sound from our last album. Fans who own Kid A should be able to get their heads around it.
Single Record of the Year and New Vocalist were such a blessing to see, but when I saw that I was up for Album of the Year, that's when I started to be like, 'What in the world, this is crazy!' That one really got me in a pretty different way.
I was signed by L.A. Reid on Arista Records when I was 16. He understood me and believed in me. Arista folded and I got put on RCA or whatever, then there were new people there, and every six months it changes and more new people come in.