Lindsey Stirling

Europe in general is a great place for me, but specifically Germany has been very good to me. Germans love classical music... Electronic dance music is massive over there, so I\'m kind of the marriage between the two.

There is such an advantage to self-releasing. If you can do it yourself, it\'s the best way to go. In Europe and the rest of world outside the U.S., I have licensed my music to labels. But it\'s amazing because I still own all the masters. I didn\'t have to give up any of those rights. I have 100 percent creative control.

I love singers like Hayley Williams from Paramore and Amy Lee from Evanescence.

A lot of my writing comes from the themes of my life, and a lot of that stems from my faith. I also strive to be a light through which Christ can shine, whether it\'s through the way I dress, though my videos, or through my music.

I really feel like sometimes I\'ll write these songs, and I\'ll just think, \'You know that couldn\'t have come from me alone.\' I believe that God inspires us. I believe that He gives us gifts and talents, and it\'s up to us to develop them and choose what we do with them.

As a dancing violinist, there have been a couple of moments where I\'m like, \'Oops! This is an expensive mistake!\'

What gives my art the most meaning is when I can connect with others through it. When people say that my music has helped them, or it makes them feel good, or it inspires them, that is what gives my art lasting meaning to me.

I was classically trained. But more than just the fact that I play violin, there\'s a lot of classical elements in the way I write, in the way I hear chords. A lot of times, I think of my songs as a symphony made out of electronics rather than instruments. And I love to do orchestral arrangements of my songs after they\'re done.

Every time before I go into the studio, I say a prayer, and I really ask God for inspiration.

Violinists\' hands aren\'t the prettiest because of our nails and what our hands have to go through.

There are so many things that can go wrong while performing. I\'ve had violin strings break; I\'ve had pants that were slowly falling down, and I\'d have to pull them up in between every song; my hairpiece was falling out, so a big chunk of hair was just flapping around as I danced, and I\'ve completely fallen on my butt.

I originally went to school to be a filmmaker. And so it\'s a big part of how I think and how I write. And it inspires me a lot.

It\'s really hard to smile when you play. As a performer, if I ever find myself focusing, it\'s like, \'Oh no - orchestra face!\' It\'s not attractive at all, so I have to focus on smiling.

Going to college is an amazing opportunity to not only learn and be book-smart but also to kind of stretch your wings and expand yourself as a human and as an artist, whatever it is you\'re going for.

It was Skrillex who got me into dubstep. He made it melodic - not just a bunch of crazy sounds.

Once I know a song really well, I can then have fun dancing.

I draw inspiration from my life, and, honestly, a lot of my religious beliefs have stemmed into my music.

I got all these books about, like, what you need to know to enter the entertainment industry. And I remember I sent my music to record labels, and I took these little DVDs and sent them all over the place. And either no one got back to me or they just kept saying, \'You\'re too different.\'

There are very few things that I love more than being on stage and performing, but more than anything, I want to be a positive role model for teenage girls.

I love going into the studio with just an idea of the direction. Like, I want this tempo... I love to start from scratch, and the tracks sort of take on a life of their own.

The same way that I practiced the violin, the same way that I practiced my dance moves, I decided that I was going to practice being positive and practice loving myself.

I just loved EDM because I felt like it inspired dance and movement.

I submitted videos and applications to talent agencies and TV shows; I drove to Vegas and visited agents. I was on \'America\'s Got Talent\'; I played for free at venues in attempts to be \'found\' and yet all the experts in the entertainment industry told me that what I did was not marketable and that I had to join a group or do more traditional music.

I always meditate before every show. I say a prayer with my crew and my band to get in the mode, and I also stretch because it\'s a very athletic show. We\'ve got to entertain; it\'s what we do.

The great thing about YouTube is there are no gatekeepers. No one is waiting to tell you if you\'re good enough. It\'s just your audience.

I was very unfamiliar with YouTube; I thought it was the place for dog and cat videos.

If you\'re public speaking, imagine yourself feeling confident; if you\'re nervous about a date and thinking, \'I\'m gonna be a dork,\' picture yourself being funny. Then it will be familiar to your brain.

There is one person that I have learned always sees the beauty in us, and that\'s our Savior Jesus Christ.

I was told at first that being different was a bad thing. Everywhere I went, it was just, \'You\'re too different\'... And it turned out that being different was the best thing that ever happened to my career. It is why people travel to my shows. It\'s why people want to hear my story and buy my book.

It really is ironic that the saddest I\'d ever been was when I had \'achieved\' all the things I had wanted. I was so disgustingly thin, but I was so unhappy.