• July 8, 1992
• She was born in Los Angeles, California, to a Brazilian-Portuguese father and a Native American mother.
• Her grandmother was Michael Jackson's longtime hair stylist, so she grew up seeing the King of Pop at holidays and family functions.
• Much of her work comes out of the frustration of not being understood, whether it's by the music industry who tried to package her as a shiny pop star or by the public who branded her a "troubled artist" after a 2013 arrest for drug possession. She told Time Out Melbourne of her debut album: "I'm not a confrontational person and I'm really sensitive, so I feel like the only way I can express what I feel is through song, because I can't seem to do it in real life. I wasn't thinking, 'I need to change the world,' but I knew I needed to make a record that represented myself. Because nobody really knew me and I had a lot of stuff to say. I kept it inside for so long. I was so angry and it was sitting in me for years."
• The first album she ever bought was Fiona Apple's Tidal when she was six years old.
• On songwriting: "I don't really have a songwriting process. It either happens or it doesn't. I'll just hear a word or see something or read something, and that's it."
• She said the best songwriting tip she ever received was from record producer Jon Brion, who encouraged her to "just write the way you actually talk and think."
• She dropped out of high school when she was 15.
• She uses meditation to help cope with stage fright. She explained to Time Out Melbourne: "I've tried everything, like imagining people aren't there. Sunglasses really help me. Getting drunk does not help - people used to shove alcohol in my face, but it never helps, it just makes me look stupid and makes me have worse stage fright the next time."

Comments

More Songfacts:

I Ran (So Far Away)A Flock of Seagulls

"I Ran (So Far Away)" by A Flock Of Seagulls ends with an alien abduction.

StanEminem

Thanks to Eminem's song, the word "stan" was added to the Oxford American Dictionary in 2017. It means an obsessive fan.

Sloop John BThe Beach Boys

"Sloop John B" is a traditional West Indian folk song, and it was a huge hit for The Beach Boys in 1966. They tweaked the lyric, "This is the worst trip since I've been born" to "...I've ever been on" as a wink to acid culture.

3 AMMatchbox Twenty

The Matchbox Twenty song "3 AM" is about the difficult times lead singer Rob Thomas spent caring for his mother, who had cancer.

Nothin' On YouB.o.B

When "Nothin' On You" reached #1 on the Hot 100, B.o.B became the first American act whose name is a palindrome to top the chart. The other two who did so prior to the Atlanta rapper were both Scandinavian groups - ABBA and A-Ha.

Just Give Me A ReasonPink

Pink wrote "Just Give Me A Reason" about how one partner can feel jilted over something trivial, like how her boyfriend passes her the butter.

Editor's Picks

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Gary Brooker of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.

Glen BallardSongwriter Interviews

Glen Ballard talks about co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album, and his work with Dave Matthews, Aerosmith and Annie Lennox.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."