MHB: How old were you when you discovered you could sing? Did you always want to be a singer?

LILAW: I've wanted to be a singer ever since I was young. I think it's definitely an over-romanticized fantasy for kids, especially young girls, to want the popstar life. I was obsessed with Britney Spears from the time I was 4 or 5 years old, which I think was really the start of it all for me. Then just growing up and having music be such a huge part of my life made me want it even more. I listened to everything I could get my hands on, watched the Music Choice video channel religiously when my dad wasn't home, wrote songs, and danced around my room singing into a hairbrush well into my teens. It took me a long time though to admit to myself and to others, that being a musician was what I really wanted. It's an incredibly tough and competitive industry to try and break into and sustain success in, especially as the industry as a whole is dying. To those around me music was never really a serious option, despite my love and talent in it, because it was too big of a risk to take. I was young and smart so I went to college to study to become a doctor. I listened to others and took the safe route up until my sophomore year of college, when I quit biochemistry to study literature (great for songwriting). I'm not exactly sure what triggered the change in my mentality, maybe just the accumulation of little moments over time that slowly built up strength and triggered an epiphany, but all of the sudden no one else's opinions or goals for me mattered. Music was it. It always had been and I finally had the courage to pursue it seriously.