If you're in a dark place, you're there for a reason. And the only way to get through to those kids or to other people going through the same thing is really to meet them in that dark place and then slowly bring them to the light.

We're fighting to be ourselves in a world that's trying to make us like everyone else.

I remember starting out and covering songs.

I just want to be myself and be real and be funny.

I want to show every part of me and every color of me. And I think, growing up Albanian, I wanted to bring that to light.

What you start learning is that to get over a breakup, you kind of have to live through the emotions and not run away from it because then it lasts longer.

You need to know when to surrender the album.

I try to photobomb as much as possible.

I was the girl that didn't go to prom or my graduation because I was too busy working with producers and making music.

I never wanted to take the easy way, and I was always willing to hustle.

There's nothing mathematical to my writing. It's a feeling.

I turned sadness into an anthem for not letting anything or anyone slow you down.

I think that the music industry is such an interesting place, and there are so many situations that people don't know about.

Nothing really scares me anymore.

I want people to be happy.

Life is hard. It is. And it's like, I don't want anybody feeling any pain.

I just want us to all have a good time and to party and enjoy this life, because it's too short. It's too short.

I got so excited about it. I was like, 'Yes! I won a Grammy!' And then my manager was like, 'No, you did not win a Grammy. You were part of a song that won a Grammy. Rihanna won a Grammy.'

When I first was a part of 'The Monster,' I really wanted to put it out under my name, but no record label thought it was good enough - until Eminem liked it.

I will always, forever, write songs, and wherever they're meant to be is where they'll be.

It's one thing if you write a song and somebody else sings it because you give the OK. But if your voice is on something and you don't get the credit, it's kind of hard.

I just don't let music genres define me.

I don't really want to make this sound depressing, but I will say that I didn't really have my first kiss until really, really late.

I was very obsessed with my music, and I think that, as a young girl, I really wanted to get into this business, and I don't think my parents really knew how to protect me.

I think in a lot of situations I had got songs stolen from me, or treated badly.

It's a very hard industry, and it's very cold. It's loving for when you have a hit record, but when you don't have anything going on, there's really not much support.

I have put absolutely everything into my album. I feel like it's been such a long journey to get here. It is like giving birth to my first child, and I want to make sure I did everything right.

It must be so hard trying to figure yourself out in this industry. Justin Bieber has hit rock-bottom with everyone watching him; that is just so tough.

'Straight Outta Compton' was such a great movie, and obviously, I'm in the music business, so getting to see that piece of history was amazing, and it was an incredible movie.

I grew up in the era of Britney Spears, where artists had songs written for them, and you got up and sang them. That's how I always thought it was.

It's weird to me when an artist comes in, and the label says, 'We want him to sound like Chris Brown,' but he says he wants to sound like Sean Paul. There's a huge disconnect - it's like we're making a product.

I've been in the room or watched artists walk in who don't write, and you can't figure out what they really want.

I never thought of myself as a songwriter. I was just an artist writing songs, and they just happened to get placed.

I know what it takes, and you have to fight for yourself and what you believe in.

I write all of my songs from scratch, so the one thing I love about EDM is the way a song transforms into a piece of art, and how the different sounds can change the feel of the record.

We just recently saw Bruno Mars at the Hollywood Bowl, and he was incredible.

I'm constantly hydrating my hair.

If you can't find dry shampoo, baby powder is great.

For mascara, I'll just use whatever I have in my bag. I'll use anything. I feel like, from drugstores to a Saks, they are all the same to me.

Since I'm on a tour bus, sometimes it's really hard for me to wash my face, so I always make sure I have those Neutrogena Make-up Remover Cleansing Towelettes. No matter what and no matter how long the days are, I always have to wash with those before bed and when I wake up.

I think, especially in pop culture, we're brought up to think that a normal pop star is this pretty, well-kept-together girl.

We don't wake up happy and looking absolutely perfect and feeling amazing every day, you know? We're only human. So I think, with me, I'm not really scared to let people see that - because it's real.

I was a Versace perfume girl at Saks Fifth Avenue, and Rihanna actually came up to the counter and asked for something. And she wouldn't even take her sunglasses off! She was so mean to me. Not mean, but, like, guarded. I don't blame her, though.

The world can be very small. That's why you have to be very careful, whoever you meet.

It all started when I was 4. I was watching a lot of 'The Little Mermaid,' and I loved that movie. I was going around the house singing - I wanted to be on Disney and everything; I wanted to be a princess.

I played the trumpet for nine years, and then I joined the choir after that, and then I was in musicals in high school.

I wanted to be part of pop culture, so I started songwriting, and I got signed to my first record deal.

When I was a little girl, my dream was just to hear my song on the radio. It was very fascinating to me, and I was like, 'How do I do that?' Now it's like, 'Oh my God, my song is on the radio!'

Anytime there was an award show, it was a ritual where me and my mom would sit around and watch with my friends. We would make desserts and buy chips and popcorn and see what our favorite performances of the night were.

It was always my dream to be part of MTV and make history.