A lot of Irish people perform. They perform in drawing rooms. They sing songs and they play piano.

I intend to keep writing Christmas songs. There's still a lot more about Christmas that can be captured and feel like old-time Christmas. A lot of the traditions haven't been explained in song.

First of all I've been having a wonderful run of luck with cover albums songs I didn't write. I had five pop cover albums and two Christmas albums and they were all very successful.

When I was five my parents bought me a ukulele for Christmas. I quickly learned how to play it with my father's guidance. Thereafter my father regularly taught me all the good old fashioned songs.

We managed to put together a compilation that had some creativity to it. In the meantime I was listening to the free radio stations and I noticed that during their war coverage they were playing these songs born out of the Vietnam War that were all critical of the soldiers.

My songs are my kids. Some of them stay with me some others I have to send out out to the war. It might sound stupid and it might even sound naive but that's just the way it is.

As time goes by I realize that I do trust the wind. And I often write my songs for myself.

Some of their best songs don't have bridges and choruses. So that made me think I should trust my instincts. My songs were okay I figured. I didn't need to change anything.

I like to think that if it hadn't gone as well as it has if I wasn't able to make a living off of playing music I would still be playing the music. But of course I wouldn't likely have had the opportunity to travel and a lot of the places have inspired songs.

Young people don't want to be second to anyone. Everyone wants to be an overnight star. Look how many years I had to wait how many roads I had to travel how many songs I had to sing. And now I'm just beginning never ending.

That's my dream job to be able to mail songs out to people who want to hear them. Paste my face on them and not travel all over the world trying to sell them.

Songs really are like a form of time travel because they really have moved forward in a bubble. Everyone who's connected with it the studio's gone the musicians are gone and the only thing that's left is this recording which was only about a three-minute period maybe 70 years ago.

I'm thankful for my songs being at the top of the charts but I am human - I think people still have to remember that.

In the Top 40 half the songs are secret messages to the teen world to drop out turn on and groove with the chemicals and light shows at discotheques.

Adele Adkins' retro-soul debut '19' was striking less for her songs than for that voice: a voluptuous slightly parched alto that swooped and fluttered like a Dusty Springfield student trying to upstage her teacher or at least update the rules.

In high school I was Mr. Choir Boy. I had solos I was helping out the tenors with their parts and our choir teacher would ask me what songs we should do.

My overnight success was really 15 years in the making. I'd been writing songs since I was 6 and playing in bands and performing since I was 14.

My first attempt at a kiss was in fifth grade but it didn't go so well. Later I used Boyz II Men and Jodeci songs to come on to girls. I had more success.

With 'Believe' bringing really big success for me outside of the U.K. for the first time it meant I have been touring around the world and that led to a gap from the studio. I really feel like the gap has done me the world of good. Throughout that time I was able to collect songs that I really loved.

I'm delighted about the track's success in the sports world but the frustrating thing is I don't think I got rich on it. The labels and publishers did very cheap deals on our songs.

I think people are sick and tired of all the abuse songs and drug addiction we want to bring to world a big fat smile.

Country music in the mid-'90s was a big influence on my career and I played all the songs that are referenced in ''94' back in my club days. Joe Diffie was rocking a sick mullet and he was hotter than ever... just putting out monster hit after monster hit. It totally takes me back to those days and it makes me smile every time I hear it.

I don't wanta do any Blues or any sad songs.

If I could be more vague I'd write more about people in my life but I hate hurting feelings or making people feel uncomfortable. I've done that before. Unless they're sad songs. Those get finished fast but the mean ones often end up at the back of the bottom drawer and it's probably for the best.