You have to respect your audience. Without them, you're essentially standing alone, singing to yourself.

When women make their image about youth and sexuality, and not about intellect, that's kind of a dead-end road. So I think it's a combination of self-entrapment and entrapment by society.

I mean, I am fully aware of my influence and my responsibility to society in general representing the gay community. But in the same time, I don't represent the entire gay community because it's a vast, vast community, as one can imagine.

We're in a period where society seems very attracted to flash, and that seeps into people's musical taste.

My public image is so low-key, but I get to travel the world and still have an audience and it's really amazing. I don't take that for granted.