As I got older, I fell in love with Radiohead, and 'OK Computer' is one of my favorite albums of theirs. Sonically, the tone of the guitars on tracks like 'Electioneering' just rips right through me.
— Mary Lambert
I feel like I'm like a healer in a pop singer's life.
I came out when I was 17 - coming out in middle or high school is one of the most difficult things that anyone could experience. I wouldn't wish it on my enemies.
The bottom line is: You are in control of your reactions to things and how you view things.
Beauty, by way of fashion, has to do with confidence, with flattering silhouettes, with patterns, with proper fit for body type, and with an abundance of self-love!
It's taken me a long time to enjoy shopping. As a plus-size girl, you walk into a store, and it can sometimes be like a designer doesn't know you exist. It's become a fun treasure hunt.
Getting snail mail is one of my favorite indulgences, and I think receiving mail is actually a common joy.
I want to go to Italy and France; those are my two places. And I really want to go to Greece. I've seen so many pictures on Airbnb that make me think I should be living there. I could eat great salads and be on a boat.
The thing I really love about my fans is the vulnerability and openness, the crying and the hugs. They are so kind.
I wrote the chorus specifically for 'Same Love' as a narration of my story. I decided to release 'She Keeps Me Warm' as an extension of the chorus because I felt like there was more that needed to be said.
I think I streaked one time when I was 16, which was scary.
Even when I'm in a really great, steady and stable place... I'm clinically bipolar, so that always exists - a darkness always exists.
There I am, chain-smoking and watching YouTube videos in my bedroom at 6 A.M. when a spoken-word video comes on the screen. I knew I had to do it: that it was another part of me that needed to be explored.
I don't think of my songs as sad songs. I think of them as vulnerable and honest. I crack jokes in between songs, so people don't leave feeling too dark.
I'm a big emotional mess. I try to talk about things that people don't like to talk about, especially in music. Hopefully it reaches someone and lets them access their vulnerability. That's what I want it to accomplish.
Music for me is a bit more spiritual. There are moments when I'm sitting at my piano, and I don't realize that I've been playing for two hours - it feels like divine power. I know it's so cheesy.
Self-care is the number one solution to helping somebody else. If you are being good to yourself and your body and your psyche, that that serves other people better because you will grow strong enough to life someone else up.
Bike lanes are the coolest. My favorite past time is flipping off cars from my bicycle. Just kidding - I'm more of a silent resentment kind of girl.
Adele shattered the image of how the stereotypical singer is supposed to look. She has that whole 'Screw you, I'm awesome for what I do' attitude, which I really look up to and want to be a part of.
Treat others as you wish to be treated. Don't just be nice, but be kind to other people. That can be so rewarding.
In my field, you can't really wear the same dress twice unless you want Isaac Mizrahi to scorn you on TV.
To be honest, I used to hate shopping. I rarely left a store without crying, cursing my body, and swearing under my breath at the fashion industry.
At this point, I have 10 pairs of cat earrings because fans bring them to me. The next song I write, I'm going to be like, 'I love Chanel.'
So I want to make money. I think it's an OK goal to have. I always felt like I can't ask for that. But why not?
I'd want it to be really special to both of us, but I'm a huge fan of 'At Last' as a wedding song. But what's also really cool is songs that no one else would have at their wedding, like an obscure Radiohead song.
As soon as I check into a hotel, I get butt naked and I watch super trash TV like 'Storage Wars' and 'The Bachelor.'
I think, for me as an artist, there are no boundaries. As long as I'm creating in a way that isn't trying to re-traumatize any wounds that I do have.
I try to harmonize and sing every moment that I can.
After a show over the summer, a girl came up to me who was a pastor at her church, which was not accepting of same-sex relationships. She said that 'Same Love' allowed her to come out regardless of the consequences.
I'm learning how to keep my identity and personal life sacred. It's a matter of knowing my limits. I don't have to give everything that's asked of me.
I feel like if I couldn't write, I would explode.
It is a little scary to go across the whole country, and basically the world, and be like, 'What's up? I'm gay, and you should let me get married everywhere.' I don't feel like I'm a spokesperson. I just sing what my experience is.
I think artists are scared to have same-gendered pronouns in their writing, and I don't think it's because they're scared to be out, because gay artists are visible, but they don't want to alienate an audience.
I know how I want to operate as an artist. And that is by having an honest, genuine dialogue about this kind of screwed up journey I've had that I'm so thankful for.
If people can find something that they love about themselves after going to one of my shows, then I am so addicted to that feeling. It's the most gratifying thing on earth.
When you're 17 in the suburbs and know only three gay people, holding hands with your girlfriend is a proclamation.
I'm not dieting anymore. I want to eat what my body is asking of me. Just listen to your body in general - it's all self-awareness.
One of the best parts about my job is that I get to dress for red carpets and appearances, and I often forgo working with a stylist because fashion is half the fun of any event!
I'm one of the writers that would die if I didn't say what I needed to say. For me, it's a matter of survival to write.
I was bartending when I recorded 'Same Love,' and when it was on the radio, too. I remember overhearing people talking about the song while I was making them drinks.
Just because you're not thin does not mean you're ugly. You are beautiful because of the light you carry inside you. You are beautiful because you say you are, and you hold yourself that way.
My mom, grandma, great-grandma - we're all named Mary, and we all play piano and sing.
I have gained so much more from my experiences of being open and loving humanity rather than being jaded and being closed-off.
Going from someone playing 15-people venues to performing at the Grammys, it was this giant leap and sort of showed me it was possible with what I wanted to do and the kind of music I wanted to write and artist I want to be to impact a lot of people.
My life is going at the speed of light, so it's a lot of just trying... to be present in each moment... Giving each situation and each part of life that space and making sure that it's sacred in every aspect.
Yes, I would loved to have just sustained myself through my art, but less than one in a billion musicians gets that life. So rather than being like, 'I'm an exception!', like a moron, I thought I'd get a real job.
I look up to Tegan & Sara, obviously, Adele and Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks. All these artists are strong in their convictions, and they haven't changed who they are for the music business.
If I can sit down at my keyboard and have a melody that says something that I can't with words, that's a really beautiful thing.
I was a really, really depressed kid.
If you want to help somebody, make sure you're coming from a place of clarity and complete non-judgment; that way, you can begin to understand their journey, too.
