Lindsey Stirling

I played the violin my whole life. I wanted to play from the time I was just a little kid, and I've always loved dance as well. I wanted to make people smile. I wanted to add an extra energy to my playing and make it visual and make it unique and fun.

It is very unnatural to dance while playing the violin. I had to practice so hard to learn how to do it, but now it is part of my expression, and it comes naturally. I have to know a song perfectly before I can even begin to move.

It is so cool to be able to stand as a witness of Christ and to be able to be proud of it and be part of His army.

It really is ironic that the saddest I'd ever been was when I had 'achieved' all the things I had wanted. I was so disgustingly thin, but I was so unhappy.

I draw inspiration from my life, and, honestly, a lot of my religious beliefs have stemmed into my music.

I have been so incredibly blessed, and I just feel like my calling is to be a missionary and share the gospel... The Lord's given me a platform to stand on and an audience that is listening. I feel like it's so important to share what makes me happy.

There is one person that I have learned always sees the beauty in us, and that's our Savior Jesus Christ.

I was struggling with anorexia, and one of the biggest problems with an eating disorder is you don't realize you have it. And you can't heal until you realize there's a problem.

I just realized one day that I was so unhappy. And not only that, but I didn't even like the person that I was. I didn't even know who I was. And so 'Shatter Me' is about first discovering what was under the shell and then learning to love that person that was under it. And then not being afraid to break free.

I got all these books about, like, what you need to know to enter the entertainment industry. And I remember I sent my music to record labels, and I took these little DVDs and sent them all over the place. And either no one got back to me or they just kept saying, 'You're too different.'

Once I know a song really well, I can then have fun dancing.

Through my unique style of playing, I want to prove that you don't have to conform to be accepted. The greatest value comes from loving yourself for who you are.

There are very few things that I love more than being on stage and performing, but more than anything, I want to be a positive role model for teenage girls.

YouTube did more for me than 'America's Got Talent.'

Coming from a YouTube perspective, a lot of times you kind of limit yourself and think, 'Oh, artists from the real world wouldn't want to work with someone who's made their career on YouTube.' But more and more, I'm realizing that artists from both sides are learning that we can benefit from each other.

I love going into the studio with just an idea of the direction. Like, I want this tempo... I love to start from scratch, and the tracks sort of take on a life of their own.

I feel like my art is very eclectic. I have taken my favorite things - be that costume designing, fashion sense, music and video editing - and I threw them all into one big clump. And that's what I do.

I know that I received so much help from God to become that kind of person that I wanted to be. That's honestly the message that I think is in a lot of my songs.

The same way that I practiced the violin, the same way that I practiced my dance moves, I decided that I was going to practice being positive and practice loving myself.

I feel like when I'm on stage and when I'm performing - or I think when anybody is developing their talents and sharing it - I think you glow.

Everybody has their demons that they face, and I went through a time when I thought it was impossible to love myself.

Europe in general is a great place for me, but specifically Germany has been very good to me. Germans love classical music... Electronic dance music is massive over there, so I'm kind of the marriage between the two.

A lot of my writing comes from the themes of my life, and a lot of that stems from my faith. I also strive to be a light through which Christ can shine, whether it's through the way I dress, though my videos, or through my music.

What gives my art the most meaning is when I can connect with others through it. When people say that my music has helped them, or it makes them feel good, or it inspires them, that is what gives my art lasting meaning to me.

There are so many things that can go wrong while performing. I've had violin strings break; I've had pants that were slowly falling down, and I'd have to pull them up in between every song; my hairpiece was falling out, so a big chunk of hair was just flapping around as I danced, and I've completely fallen on my butt.

There is such an advantage to self-releasing. If you can do it yourself, it's the best way to go. In Europe and the rest of world outside the U.S., I have licensed my music to labels. But it's amazing because I still own all the masters. I didn't have to give up any of those rights. I have 100 percent creative control.

I originally went to school to be a filmmaker. And so it's a big part of how I think and how I write. And it inspires me a lot.

I love singers like Hayley Williams from Paramore and Amy Lee from Evanescence.

The truth is that several years ago, I suffered from depression. And I remember during this time, I basically fell into this hole where my life became cold, and it became gray, and I lost sight of everything that was important to me.

I really feel like sometimes I'll write these songs, and I'll just think, 'You know that couldn't have come from me alone.' I believe that God inspires us. I believe that He gives us gifts and talents, and it's up to us to develop them and choose what we do with them.

Every time before I go into the studio, I say a prayer, and I really ask God for inspiration.

It's really hard to smile when you play. As a performer, if I ever find myself focusing, it's like, 'Oh no - orchestra face!' It's not attractive at all, so I have to focus on smiling.

As a dancing violinist, there have been a couple of moments where I'm like, 'Oops! This is an expensive mistake!'

Violinists' hands aren't the prettiest because of our nails and what our hands have to go through.

I want to make dubstep something beautiful.

It was Skrillex who got me into dubstep. He made it melodic - not just a bunch of crazy sounds.

If I like dubstep and electronic, why don't I make the violin fit me rather than making myself fit the violin?

I was told by so many people that I wouldn't succeed because I was too different. Ironically, the very reason that people watch my channel and travel thousands of miles to see a show... is because it's different. God didn't send us to Earth to just blend in. We are here to share what makes us unique.

For several years I had no idea that I had become anorexic. And I'd be at places with people I cared about, but what I was thinking about was how much extra grease was on the pizza or the calories that I knew was in that shake.

When I first came to college, it was a time that I was trying to figure out, 'Who am I? What makes me special?' and I started to find most of my value in the fact that I was thin.

The great thing about YouTube is there are no gatekeepers. No one is waiting to tell you if you're good enough. It's just your audience.

I started making music that I loved and was passionate and excited about, but it was really cool when I started touring to realize it's an extremely diverse group of people who come out. In the front row, I'll have everyone from a little girl in a frilly tutu, to rockers and gamers and older couples. I love it that it's just everybody.

A lot of these reality-TV shows people go on, they come off, and nothing happens. You never hear from them again. Fifteen seconds of fame is not the name of the game. No matter how big you break, or how many people you break in front of, you still have to slowly build a fan base to have anything loyal and lasting from people.

I never liked feeling like the world needed to have labels on everything, whether it's people or categories of music. I think everyone should be what they want to be, and you shouldn't have to look a certain way in order to fit this mold or that mold.

Visualization - it's been huge for me. Your mind doesn't know the difference between imagination and reality. You can't always practice perfectly - my fingers will play a little bit out of tune, or my dance moves might not be as sharp - but in my mind, I can practice perfectly.

I was very unfamiliar with YouTube; I thought it was the place for dog and cat videos.

Maker is extremely proactive and creative with their talent. They seem to have mastered the difficult task of giving attention to their smaller, growing channels while still being able to add value to their larger established channels - plus, with this partnership, I am one step closer to becoming a Disney princess!

Sometimes, being different feels a lot like being alone. But with that being said, being true to that and being true to my standards and my way of doing things in my art and my music, everything that has made me feel very different... in the end, it has made me the happiest.

If you're public speaking, imagine yourself feeling confident; if you're nervous about a date and thinking, 'I'm gonna be a dork,' picture yourself being funny. Then it will be familiar to your brain.

I still follow the lifestyle of the Mormon church. I try to go to church every Sunday even when I'm on tour. It's not only my upbringing, but it helps me stay sane. It helps me remember my purpose and the overall picture of what is important to me and what makes me happy.