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Even though I enjoy that head-to-head competition part, one of the things that drove me to long track was if I won or if I lost I want to know it's all on my shoulders and it didn't have anything to do with anybody else.

The Grammy snuck up on me. I was on tour. It just hit me. I skipped down the street in Vienna. I kept saying, 'I won. I won.'

I feel like if I won an award and I was giving my speech and the music started, that's all I'd remember, the humiliation I felt when the music started. It would mar the entire experience for me.

I have no idea why I won, man. I guess some people liked the music that I was doing. I'm just lucky. I was just doing my thing each week.

I savored my time on top of the podium by watching the American flag rise up out of the crowd as the anthem played, thinking about how every single second of training I've done was for this minute and how many people played a role in my achievement.

I've always loved to perform in front of people, but it became pretty serious when I participated in 'Sweden's Got Talent.' I thought it would be a fun thing to do, and I was just like, 'OK, why not?' And Mom was like, 'OK, sure, sure, do this!' So I did, and I won it!

I'd forget the piece just before I went out to do the concerto, the panic was too great. This was not anything that gave me pleasure. This was fulfilling somebody else's dream.

I know I'll never feel that sensation of racing and winning again and that took a while to get used to. The Tour was a race I never thought I could lose.

When I woke up Sunday morning at the Open and stepped outside and felt the wind and rain in my face, I knew I had an excellent chance to win if I just took my time and trusted myself.

I'm glad I won it because when I grew up the Pulitzer was the award that every composer wanted and I was like that too.