"I overthink a lot of things."
"When you go through life, when you go through different things, you take risks, you question yourself. I think everybody does, at some point in their life, question themselves."
"I'm not here to change the music world, but I'm definitely here to show what I can do and express myself through my music."
"I think I can connect with an audience because I know what it's like to be on the other side of it and I really remember all of that."
"Food in Chicago is the best."
"I think a big part of 'American Idol' that scares people and actually has, I'm sure, stopped people from trying out is the fact that you do have to do things that are necessarily not your genre."
"I have a pretty wide range of musical tastes."
"Working a job I love is mentally less stressful than punching in a clock everyday, but it's a lot busier."
"Writing on the road is a passion of mine."
"Some people take pictures; I write songs."
"I love knowing that people are connecting to my lyrics, my music and me."
"I will always appreciate 'American Idol,' and I never forget about where I come from."
"I'd love to work with Sufjan Stevens. He so gets it. He's amazing."
"When I was younger, I was afraid to be myself."
"There are so many good venues in Chicago."
"I like blue a lot, and greens. Earthy blues and greens."
"Melodies are important. I always kind of pride myself on my melodies."
"I don't like to have really any expectations for myself."
"Doing charity work is always cool. It's always a good thing."
"I have goals that I want to reach, but you can never plan what's going to happen next."
"Winning 'American Idol' is awesome."
"I'm not the guy that thinks I'm a perfect singer."
"My music comes from my emotion, always."
"I love performing."
"Writing isn't everyone's favorite thing to do or what their thing is."
