Alessia Cara

Often, as teens, we think we know everything, but actually we're just trying to figure life out, and we don't know much at all. ”

I just want to keep my normal life for as long as possible. ”

I do feel pressure from the outside world a little bit just because everybody wants new music, which is really nice. It just proves that everybody likes what I'm doing. But at the same time, I feel like it's important to just chill and experience things and really make the songs true to me. ”

I was too shy to do any vocal lessons or go to choirs; I just didn't want to be seen doing it. It's something that I kept to myself. I started easing into it, and I started doing talent shows, and YouTube really helped with that, too. ”

I always told myself that if I was going to be given a voice, I might as well say something worth listening to and not something that's just going to feed people stupidity. ”

I guess people don't think that young girls or young artists have opinions, but I'm so glad that there's artists like Lorde and Raury and Kehlani because they're showing other people that young people can have an opinion and a voice and do really well with it. I'm glad I can be one of those people. ”

I'm not a fitness model; I'm just a singer. If people focus on that, that's what I care about. ”

The fact that there's people out there that care about what I'm eating for breakfast or care about a tweet that I posted in 2012 that they pulled up because they were searching on my Twitter and things like that - it's hard to understand, because it's just me, and I just think, 'What's so interesting about me?' ”

I think that my music is really empowering. I just want people to know - especially young people, but really everyone - that you don't have to be so caught up in what everyone else is thinking. You don't have to be the coolest, most popular person. You can just be you and be vulnerable. ”

I'm really in touch with my Italian roots. My mom's whole side of the family is there. ”