Manika Quotes

My sound comes from my inspiration, which is people like Aretha and Jay Z and Kanye, as well as everyone from the Whitneys and Mariahs to Destiny's Child and Usher. They all inspired me growing up.

I didn't look up to only pop stars, but I did look up to Adele, Amy Winehouse, Grimes, Robyn, Joni Mitchell, Norah Jones, M.I.A., Coldplay, Keane, and more.

I have so many playlists full of Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown.

Oh, my gosh, I'm listening to everything from Bruno Mars to Beyonce, to Arthea Franklin and Patti LaBelle.

Growing up, Missy Elliot and Janet Jackson were definitely major references.

Don't get me wrong, The Beatles are one of our all-time favourite bands, but there's a lot more we were influenced by.

I think, definitely, I was hugely influenced by - obviously like Adele and Florence the Machine. They were my complete idols growing up. But also, there were a lot of influences from my dad, like singer-songwriters of the '70s like Carole King and James Taylor.

When I was very little, I was into Michael Jackson. At six or seven, it was Madonna, but she's not what she used to be. I've been into everything from Edith Piaf to Joe Strummer to the Velvet Underground to Suicide to A Tribe Called Quest to African music.

Lauryn Hill's always been a hero of mine. And Bruno Mars, Janelle Monae and Adele, those are the current artists I would reference in terms of who's been able to do really amazing pop records with really cool, organic throwback elements of soul in there as well.

There's no place in the world you can go and not hear rock-and-roll, from Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder to Phil Collins.

I didn't grow up with Broadway music. My mother played Perry Como, while I listened to Andy Williams records. Later on it was Cream, Grand Funk Railroad and lots of R&B like the Isley Bros. and Parliament.

I'm a big fan of Beyonce and Rihanna. I've listened to Beyonce all my life, and she's a big influence on me.

I have a tattoo of Joy Division on my chest, and I like One Direction.

I love Adele. Natasha Bedingfield is cool, those sort of people.

Barry White, Smokey Robinson and Curtis Mayfield are big influences for me. But I'm also a metal head. I was in a bunch of punk rock bands. The Bee Gees, hip-hop and the Beach Boys are just as much of an influence on me as Smokey.

I have been influenced by many different artists at many different stages of my life. Starting out, it was people like Elton John, Billy Joel, Ben Folds, and Fiona Apple. As I got older I got deeper into the work of bands like the Beatles, artists like Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Etta James, and Joni Mitchell.

My musical tastes go from Zeppelin to Bob Dylan to Kanye West and Lil' Wayne. Anything modern and progressive.

I have a lot of different influences. Everything from Maroon 5, Gwen Stefani, The Clash, Kanye West - just a lot of different artists.

Early inspirations included Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie... Those were the people I actually wound up studying just to hone my craft.

I listen to everything - from Sarah McLachlan and Alanis Morissette all the way down to rap like Scarface, UGK and Lauryn Hill.

I love everything from The Rolling Stones to Run-DMC to Nina Simone.

Travis Scott is definitely a big inspiration. Lil Wayne was a big one. Lil Wayne, 50 Cent. Those were my two, like, big ones growing up. Then I got into Mac Miller, Wiz Khalifa phase.

I'm obsessed with artists like Lady Gaga. I'm obsessed with artists like Lana Del Rey.

No Doubt is one of the groups that I think everybody listens to, man, and everybody loves Gwen Stefani.

I'm massively inspired by Janet Jackson, and I adore Whitney Houston and Madonna.