Daya

Because of my interest in songwriting, I was invited to visit a friend in L.A. for songwriting sessions with him and his friends. We wrote six songs by the end of the weekend, and 'Hide Away' happened to be one of them! ”

I performed in Redlands, Calif., at Splash Kingdom. It reminded me of the water parks I went to as a kid. I was like, 'I want to ride the rides!' ”

In terms of role modelling for younger kids, I never really censor myself. ”

When 'Hide Away' first started gaining a bit of momentum, I was visiting at least two radio stations per day - sometimes in different cities - to spread the word about the song. It was a hustle, but so worth it. ”

I should be, right now, a normal 17-year-old sitting in class in high school. Instead, I'm recording, and it's so exciting for me. I can't imagine anything I'd rather be doing right now. ”

As soon as 'Hide Away' came out, it was like everyone knew who I was, and I started getting all this attention. It was hard to get used to at first. I just remember that I suddenly couldn't walk down the hallways without hearing a classmate or teacher playing it - it was unreal! ”

It was like I was Hannah Montana! I was a normal girl from Pittsburgh one minute and then a pop star the next! ”

I've always been a songwriter. ”

I love having a major label behind me. Independent was really great to start off, as and I made some really big moves and gained a lot of fans. ”

I like the fact that I have the power to convey a lot of emotion through my songs. I like to channel that when I'm singing. I think it's just a mix of R&B, soul, but then I kind of move more into the pop world and electronic pop and stuff like that. ”