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When I was 4 or 5 and I could put complete thoughts together and really feel them, I remember watching the Grammy's or something like that and getting real emotional because I wanted to be up there.

I remember sitting on a bench in New York and sobbing and realising that my ambition to be a singer was making me selfish - I was a mother with two children, and I needed a backup plan.

All my friends went to the Madonna concert when I was in, maybe, the 9th grade, and my mother refused to let me go.

All my life, I was even just wanted to attend the Grammys, like, just be there, so the fact that I'm nominated for Best New Artist, it feels like a dream.

It was so surreal, having my parents hear the President and First Lady saying to me, 'Good to see you again! We're so proud of you. We watched you on the Grammys and were like, 'That's our girl!'

I remember how my mom would take me on the subway from Queens to Broadway. We'd go to the offices of casting agents. Many doors were slammed in our faces. I was just a boy, but I remember that well.

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 haven't been to many music events where somebody was performing and it actually made me cry.

I remember Alicia Keys and Usher had released a song called 'My Boo,' and my music teacher got me to sing a duet with a friend of mine, and I remember being so nervous because I loved to sing, but I could never fathom singing by myself. And when I did that, I remember how proud I was of myself. I was 12.