Kiesza

I didn't date for my entire teen life - it just wasn't on my mind.

The moment I wrote my first song, I got addicted.

As an artist, I feel so fortunate to be able to learn from all these great musicians that came before me, when some people have nobody that came before them.

I believe that anyone can be what they want to be; it just comes down to hard work.

I love Canadians. I think we make an impact around the world just when people meet us, and whenever I meet another Canadian, I see it as well.

I probably wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the gay community supporting me. I wouldn't be the artist I was today if it wasn't for that because that was the only community that let me try, let me perform without knowing who I was.

From the age of three to 15, I wanted to be a ballerina and trained really, really hard. Then I had that classic movie story moment, where I had an injury and had to give up my dream.

Oh man, the Vengaboys are my guilty pleasure.

I was a very unpredictable child. I'd pack a bag and go off and do a hike in the mountains for 10 days.

You're taught that you can keep going in the military. Your point of collapse is not what you thought it was. Your body is built to survive, and when you think you're going to collapse, you still have so much more left in you.

I didn't want to be that artist that is successful as a result of someone else. Not that that's wrong, but I felt like I had what it took. I really believed I could do it on my own, so I wanted to try, at least.

People have mentioned, 'Maybe you should try to be more sexy. Look at how this butt stuff propelled this person to the top of the chart; it's amazing!' And I'm like, 'What if I really want to sing something to people?' I speak my mind. I want to be that person people feel they can listen to.

I don't think shoving my butt into people's faces will tell them anything about who I am. How is that connecting to your audience? What is that doing for your music?

I'm very naturally happy, quirky and positive.

To be honest, I'm more of a sneaker person. My legs hurt if I wear heels for too long.

When I started writing music on the guitar, it started off very folky because of my limited ability to play. It was slow, soft melodies. But then, as I got better on the guitar, I started exploring different sounds.

A lot of people preach and talk, but I think the only way to preach is to actually do things.

I was a weird teenager. My mother was actually worried because I didn't have any interest in dating in my teenage years. I had all this desire to pursue my passions like ballet, then sailing, then music, so I didn't have any emptiness to fill.

I tend to sort of dive into things without worrying about risk or anything. Like, when I get an idea, I tend to just go for it and see what happens.

I feel like, when you turn on the radio and you hear a great song, you know it's a great song, and you sing along. We all know what a great song sounds like, so we all have that instinct, it's just being able to accept your own instincts when you write that song.

It wasn't until I wrote 'Hideaway' that I found the song I related to as an artist.

I was in a rock band; I was my own folk singer; I was in a death metal band for a very short time; I was in a cover band, a jazz band, a blues band. I was in a gospel choir.

I tend to obsess over my passions.

When something really grabs me, I dive into it.

Life experience brings out different emotions and different perspectives on things. I just want to be constantly evolving.