I just got out of the studio with my good friend Ariana Grande! It was so great to be writing music with her. It was our first time writing together and it went so well. I don’t want to give any details away about the song, but I can say it is a little “vintage” (; We had a blast working on the song and I can’t wait for you guys to hear it. We are going to surprise you!!!
Just got the word that “Hold On ‘Til The Night” went platinum in Indonesia! So amazing. Cannot wait to go over there for a proper tour with full-scale shows. I am really excited because I am redesigning my show from my last tour. It is going to be a little different. (; Another reason why I’m excited about redesigning the show is because it’s just not for Asia. This show will continue with me to the US; which I can’t wait for!
My main focus for this new show is to really “interact” with the fans. I want the fans to be a part of the stage and the show. This is a difficult thing to do but I think it will work out very well! I can’t wait for the tour to start!!!
I arrived in London last Monday! I was super excited to be able to come back to England and spend some time enjoying the culture. I do have to admit, usually I hate sightseeing and doing touristy stuff; but this time I gave in.
First we started by going to my favorite London restaurant named Nandos! (I also really like a restaurant named Wagamama in London.) They do really good spicy chicken with peri peri french fries. Our lunch was so good! After that, we decided to head out on the Tube (subway) and head over to Buckingham Palace. We arrived and it was beautiful! So much gold and amazing gates, and of course an amazing palace. After Buckingham Palace, we did my favorite thing of the day- Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum. I gotta say, they really showed some weird stuff in the London version…but it was still great! :)
For those of you who don’t know, I’m hosting a contest with the help of Music & Arts. The contest is to see who can upload the best video + performance of themselves performing a song. So many people entered, and I love getting to see the videos. Everyone is so extremely talented and we have a lot of videos to go through! I love seeing the really highly “produced” videos, with different camera angles, cool camera effects; it was so rad to see all these kids get really creative and techy with it. It was also great to see the really laid back videos, shot with one camera and a guitar or piano, just singing; just like how i started. Even though I have my favorites, everyone is extremely talented and I cannot wait to see who is the winner!
I know that it is two years away..but I am sure most of you are doing the same thing that I am. Wondering and thinking about what car you are going to get when you turn 16! It is a thing that we all do, and sometimes it gets very frustrating and intense. But not for me! Because I have already known what car I wanted for a long time… well kinda. I am a huge fan of old cars. They have so much character and in my opinion, are much better then new cars. But the problem is that I am stuck on two cars. I can either go really old school with a 1964 Cadillac. Or go with a 1979 Black Trans Am. Both of them are extremely rad, but I need you guys to help me make a pick. So what do you think, Cadillac or Trans Am? :)
I have been in the recording studio a lot lately working on new music! I know I have said this many times, but I cannot wait for you all to hear it! I think it is some of my best work. My goals coming in, were to make something very universal and big; almost kinda worldly. After my trip to Asia, I was very inspired to make music not just for my US fans but for fans all across the world. So some of the songs have had international influences. I have also been into somewhat of a different sound this time. For example, one song is kinda bluesy, most of them are pop/rock, and then some are kinda on the rock edge. Finally, the Beatles have had a huge influence in my writing. Their lyrical compositions are so incredible, so I wanted to try to make something that could live on forever, like the Beatles. I think you guys are going to like these new songs coming. :)
So as you all know…I listen to a lot of music! All the time, everywhere I go. I love finding new bands and new different types of music. One of my newest favorites is a DJ called Washed Out! He makes a very electronic but relaxing type of music that I love listening to in the car. You all should go check him out! Finding new music these days is very easy, but if you are unsure about how to go about it, you can always do what I do! To find new music, I log on to my iTunes account and just go through each genre of music. Whether it is dance, electronic, indie, jazz, pop, anything! And I spend some time on each genre and just listen. You will be amazed at what you can find. Check it out!
One of my favorite photos from my Asia promo trip. This one was taken in Kota Kinabalu at my show! There were at least 3,000 people smashed into this little space. I would have never dreamed or known that there would be so many fans over in Asia! It was quite a shock. The fans in Asia are so genuine and sweet, and very gracious! I had such a blast being able to go over there. It was very fun to experience all the different culture and lifestyles in Asia. I tried many different things! Some things I didn’t like- for example, in Malaysia they had this fruit called durian. I had to try it at a radio station, and they made me do it on air!!!! So I tried it…the smell was awful and the taste even worse, but at least we all got a good laugh when I started to gag :) Most of things in Asia though, I liked. I loved being able to go out on the streets and see all the different little knick knacks and things for sale, they get very creative! Everything from fans, to swords, and clothes. All I know, is I had a blast in Asia with all my fans, and I am very excited to go back.
It is almost Christmas time! This is by far my favorite time of the year. I love being able to put up the tree, see all the lights, and to be able to play Christmas music. One of my favorite things to do when it comes around to Christmas is to decorate my tree! My family and I do it every year together. We usually put on a Christmas movie like “Elf” or “National Lampoons Christmas Vacation” and do it all in one night! It is a lot of fun being able to go through the boxes of ornaments and remembering where they all came from! When you pull one out you always know where it is from and when you got it! This year I am not asking for much…mainly a lot of iTunes gifts cards, being that my parents get very mad at all the money I spend on music, whoops(: Hope you all have a merry Christmas!!!