I love Kelly Clarkson's message, and I've heard comparisons to P!nk.
— Rachel Platten
I think you find universal truth when you get really honest with yourself and you can reach people. If you go deep enough, you have that core feeling, and that feeling can transcend the details of your experience.
I used to visit London when I was younger with my family. I feel very close to the city.
I learned that I truly am a fighter and that I cannot give up.
I learned a lot from playing those late-night, 1-to-4 A.M. gigs with my band, and playing when no one was listening.
When I got on stage, I felt this bolt of electricity hit me, and it was this shock of, 'This is exactly what I'm supposed to do with my life.'
I feel like I have some stuff that matches 'Fight Song,' not in necessarily the message exactly but in the emotion and honesty.
There's this misconception in the industry that you might have to go a little lighter or skate on the surface in order to reach people - and then in your second album, you get to tell who you are.
In general, I think the world is a good place if you work hard, believe in yourself, have good intentions, and if you are kind to people, I believe that good things happen to you.
It didn't scare me to be vulnerable because I think that's when you get something great.
I have a song about being in love. I have a song about being supportive. There's inspiring ones, and there's some that show a little bit more fun and daring. It really is a range of who I am.
Andy Grammer is probably the closest friend I have in the music industry, so touring with him was just incredible. He's such a soulful, kind guy, and he gives great advice. And he also scares me a lot. He does a lot of pranks.
I had my first concert in front of 80,000 people at the International Soca Monarch Finals.
I've been doing this career for a really long time, but there was not a lot of reason, at the time when I wrote 'Fight Song,' to believe that I should keep going.
I used to feel it was too late for me; I'd had my shot. You couldn't make a pop star out of me.
No matter what, I still was gonna make music, even if it was on a small scale. Even if it was just for me.
Vocally, I have learned to find my strength, and my voice has developed a lot since 'Be Here.' I learned to sing with all of my body.
I played cover gigs and traveled the country in my mom's old car, and my drummer and I set up a fake email and sent it out to agents. We pretended to be our own agent.
When I wrote 'Fight Song,' I was in a particular low point. I needed to remind myself to not give up, that I still believed in myself and that I still had fight left.
