Nate Ruess Quotes

I started singing to this one John Legend record; it was called 'Each Day Gets Better,' or something like that. I started to realize, 'Wow, I really sound like this dude. If I keep doing this, maybe I can sound dope like John Legend and still rap.'

I play music from Queen, to Elton John, to classic.

I started playing guitar at, like, 12 or 13 and just rock bands mostly. I had a punk rock band and hard core bands and all that.

I think Bridge Over Troubled Water was a very good song. Artie sang it beautifully. The Boxer was a really nice record. But I don't think I've written any great songs.

I like a composer called Henry Purcell, and I love to listen to Neil Young.

Being on 'Nashville' and working with some incredible people like T-Bone Burnett and Buddy Miller - so many wonderful, incredible musicians that I've been blessed to play with and observe - that has continued to shape the process of arranging music, writing music.

I was just learning to play guitar when Tracy Chapman came out. She wrote these songs, she played them by herself and I so admired her for that.

I write contemporary rock with Jane's. And I also write house music with people like Kascade.

It was my love for the guitar that first got me into music and singing. Growing up, I was inspired by The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Damian Rice was a huge influence for me musically.

Anyone who takes the craft of songwriting seriously I radiate towards. Spending time with Daryl Hall was a dream come true. I picked his brain a lot because Hall And Oats is timeless.

I listened to country music my whole life. I started writing music when I was a teenager. It all came out country.

But I love singing, and I've been singing backup for friends' bands.

And I can say this, most of the people who have recorded my songs are songwriters themselves.

Being a pop artist or making music like a jingle or something - I don't do that.

With 'Elect the Dead,' I learned how to make a rock record without a rock band and make the rock record I've always wanted to make.

I was in about in the 8th grade when I started recording R&B, so much of what was on was the Motown sound, and The Beatles had pretty much come over and taken America by storm.

Freddie Mercury said years later that he got the idea for 'We Will Rock You' from 'Bits and Pieces.' I never knew that.

I love pop music. I listen to it; I think you can hear it in my songwriting and my album. I'd definitely say it's country-pop music, but it's country first.

I definitely want to put out and album, kind of like a Kelly Clarkson vibe: a soulful voice with a pop rock background. I think it's something that I've always loved and always loved to perform. So that's the kind of album that I'd like to put out.

I'm very lucky; I have a lot of knowledge. My favorite band is The Beatles, so a lot of inspiration for my music comes from them, too.

I've always wanted to write pop music. I never wanted to be cool or make a hipster record.

I was someone who knew what they wanted to do for so long. I was always fascinated by music, always a student of pop.

A song like 'Loyal To Me,' for example, I originally wrote that for a girl band in mind, that's why it has so many harmonies and it's got that sort of '90s/R&B feel to it.

I am a pop and R&B singer. I'm not necessarily an Indian singer or musician. I sing in English, and the music I do blends hip hop, pop, R&B, and soul.

I naturally make commercial music: it's never been a calculated decision to make pop music. I'm a genuine pop music fan.