On his explosive rise to fame: "I feel no pressure to live up to anything. I say what I think, act how I want to act, post what I want to post. There's no one telling me to do this, lose weight, look like this, sing like this, write songs like that. I've just been allowed to be me, and from all the nightmares you hear about the industry from a young age, I never thought that would be the case."
On being an openly gay musician: "My aim is to tell people how good it's been for me so that, hopefully, gay men or parents with gay children can look at my story and think, 'Wow, that's how it should be.' That's what we can work towards. That's been my whole motive — to not make it a talking point. My music should be a talking point. My voice should be a talking point."
On his stripped-down candor and vulnerability: "When I was in the studio, I completely forgot in a year's time that my face was going to be plastered around major cities with the word 'lonely' underneath it. When it did happen, it was like, 'Wow, what I'm doing is taking a risk.' Music is about reaching the masses, having a message, getting through to everyone, and trying to make some sort of difference. Music, to me, is that powerful."
