Melanie Martinez Quotes

Professionally, I want to keep playing music; I can't escape that.

I'm not here to change the music world, but I'm definitely here to show what I can do and express myself through my music.

I've been wanting to sing for a long time. I've been singing all my life, and I've tried different record companies, but it seemed like - it was such a struggle and so hard to get out there. So, I said, 'I'm gonna go on American Idol and see how far it takes me.'

I dropped out of high school when I was, like, 15, so I just focused on doing music. It's all I wanted to do; I didn't want to work or anything else. I took all the negativity and obstacles that came with life, and I just put it in the music.

I was pretty gung-ho about music and pursuing that and figuring that whole thing out, so I was wide-eyed and ready to go when I moved to Nashville. I never looked back.

I used to play flute and clarinet at school, and although I wasn't thinking about making a living or getting a pay cheque, I already knew I was going to play music all my life.

The truth is, I initially became a singer-songwriter while still in my teens because it was the only way to guarantee that somebody on earth would sing the songs I was writing. Since then, I've performed just about everywhere: rock clubs, concerts halls, arenas, TV.

Music is by no means something I was like, 'I'm going to make a career out of this!' It's the only thing I know how to do, so it was more like, 'I hope to God I can make a career out of this!'

Going to college was never an option. I was passionate about music, but how much talent I actually had was another matter.

That's all I ever wanted to do in my life was music. And because I was a failed artist, I was actually able to help somebody accomplish their dream was, you know, definitely fulfilling.

No matter what went down, music was always going to be a part of my life. What ultimately happened is that, over a period of time, I just kind of looked around and when like, 'Wow! I'm actually making a living doing this.'

Once a musician, always a musician.

I been doing music since I was 15 years old. I found it intriguing, just from liking and listening to music.

I felt like that was my calling. I just didn't know how I was going to get my voice out of Edmonton, but I definitely knew that music was what I was going to do with my life.

I am just glad that I can take the music to the people who want to hear it. I love my audiences. I am deeply indebted to them for giving me the chance to sing my concerts, make records, and do what I love. Whatever people call it, it is great to have a voice!

And as I grew older, I then auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music in London, and they said, well, no, we won't accept you, because we haven't a clue - you know - of the future of a so-called 'deaf' musician. And I just couldn't quite accept that.

I moved to Nashville at 17 to make music, and since then I've put everything I have into doing it right.

I really like singing, but coming from a small town like where I grew up, how do you start that journey?

I was always in love with music, but my parents never really saw that I had talent, and it was really just by chance that I made it into the Menuhin School, and from then on my life changed. And that was when I realized, OK, this is what I want to do. But, until then, it was really just a passion, a hobby.

I always knew I wanted to be in a band.

I've been playing since I was a teenager, and I put out a few albums when I was younger. When 'Crazy Heart' took off, it gave me another reason to get into music in a more serious fashion.

As I started to consider a career in music, I hoped for success, truthfully. I didn't imagine anything that would amass the level of the first record, but I hoped that I would be able to sustain a career.

Why I got into music was James Taylor, so to see him be a real down-to-earth guy that's unbelievably talented... then to hear him sing those lyrics of 'What I'm Thankful For,' which is a song Ms. Yearwood and I got to write together, that was definitely a highlight of my recording life.

R&B is my home. It's who I am. It's who I've been. It's the first genre I fell in love with. It's the reason why I've been able to do other genres of music.

I will never stop making music.