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" My songs are very personal, which means they are fantastically therapeutic to write, but performing them night after night is emotionally draining. "

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" London audiences have this reputation for being a bit too cool for school. "

" I always said when I was younger, I wanted to write film music, and I think that's what my ultimate dream is. "

" I don't think I always look in people's faces, like, as - I think especially when I'm doing my more intimate songs that are quite personal, I always feel it's a bit accusing if I stare in someone's face when I singing quite a personal lyric. "

" I really love jazz, but I will never be a jazz musician as much as I dream. But, I think that the jazz music I love is there in my music. "

" Limitlessness is important for me; I want to be able to use every opportunity to push me forward onto the next thing. "

" Fame hasn't really affected me. I have a really close knit group around me, and my sister is always with me, so it's like a bit of a travelling circus. "

" I'm by no means a pianist. I think that's safe to say, but the piano, for me, I would say it's the enabler. It gave me what I needed and gives me what I need in order to write a song. And I think playing or improvising on the piano is where I feel most liberated and sort of less conscious of all my insecurities or inadequacies. "

" My parents were quite strict; we couldn't just listen to whatever music we wanted. It was very much like they monitored what we listened to. "

" I thought I had to help people get me, but I don't think they need to be spoon-fed. If you connect with me, that is cool. I don't need the whole world to feel like I am a soul angel. "

" You don't have to aim to be the best of everything, thinking that one day you're going to be the top of the world; I don't think it exists. "

" I come from an African Caribbean background. I've been influenced by a reggae church music style, contemporary gospel, and rock all fused together. "

" I regrettably wasted time at university by being overwhelmed and intimidated by the talent of other composers. I felt stuck and didn't know what I was doing there. I enjoyed my experience, but I didn't grab it in the way I would now. "

" There's nothing I love more in the world than layering voices. "

" I listen to a lot of choral stuff at home, but I'm also liking Labrinth, Emeli Sande, Tom Odell and Wretch 32. "

" I first played the Royal Albert Hall when I was 14. I was a violinist with the Birmingham Schools Concert Orchestra, and we travelled down from the Midlands for the last night of the School Proms. We played some pieces from the Harry Potter films, and the violin parts were really hard. "

" Taxi drivers used to ask me what kind of music I did, and I'd say, 'Well, it's kind of jazz, soul, classical' - but that makes no sense to anyone. "

" I don't think I've ever been chatted up, and I don't think I've ever chatted anyone up. The Fresh Prince has the best chat-up lines. "

" I don't talk about Amy Winehouse as a 'singer.' She's a pioneer. I listened to her endlessly when I started writing. "

" I love my complexion, but like so many of us, in the early years at primary school, I grew up thinking that my dark skin wasn't a great thing. I've found freedom in music and songwriting, which has given me a freedom in how I present myself. I'm glad I've got makeup to celebrate that with. "

" My parents encouraged us to commit to things, so if we wanted to learn an instrument, it was all the grades and all the theory. "

" My aunt is the director of the acapella group Black Voices. I was so struck by them as a child. They sang with such passion and conviction. By the time I turned 15, I had plucked up the courage to ask if I could join the group. Acapella is a different discipline from singing with an accompaniment - it is much more exposed. "

" I grew up playing in youth orchestras, so they were my most treasured memories, so to be in front of an orchestra playing my own material would be incredible. "

" It's important for any artist - particularly female artists - to feel completely comfortable and to know what they're trying to do. "

" 'Mvula' is my married name, but for some reason my nan calls me 'McVula.' I'm not sure if it's one of those jokey Caribbean things, or whether she's just getting it wrong. "

" I always start with emotion. That's where I start all of my improvisations, on the piano. I always start with the mood or the feel of where I am in that moment. "

" I respect hippos. They just look the way they do; they can't do anything about it, but they don't seem bothered. "

" I love church buildings, particularly cathedrals, and I like living in spaces that remind me of music or evoke that creative energy. "

" I've always had this passion to be creative, and wanted to sing or be in bands and make music, but I didn't have ideas as to what format it'd be, or how I'd do it. I'm not very good with plans. I didn't think it would be me at the front, either. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that was something I'd prevent. "

" I think, when I started writing songs, my voice just became another tool. It wasn't something that I was going to try desperately to woo a listener. As long as I'm using my voice in a way that helps people understand what I'm trying to say, then I feel like I'm doing all right. "

" If I'm uncomfortable on stage, everybody can see it. I'm not very good at hiding it. I like long, loose jacket dresses - anything that I can literally have room to move in - not that I'm a very big dancer, but because sometimes I'm sitting down at the keyboard, and then sometimes I'm standing. It just has to feel good. "