Kara DioGuardi Quotes

"I've never in my life bought a big piece of jewelry - like, 'I'm gonna get myself a big piece of jewelry!' Songwriters' lives are unstable and up and down. Even though mine has sort of has followed more of a going toward the sky trajectory."

"I can sing in front of people. I can go on a TV show, live, and not feel like I'm going to throw up."

"The thing that's tricky is sometimes the best voices - just because someone hits the big notes and sounds amazing - it doesn't necessarily mean they make the greatest artists."

"I can make the argument that people who don't have the biggest ranges but have very unique voices, even if they may be pitchy at times... with the right record that's really unique and distinct, they can have big hits."

"Look at someone like Ke$ha. I wouldn't say she's got the most rangy, incredible voice, but she's got a thing. She stands for something, and people are buying into that."

"I don't go to record stores to look at my albums, but it's always a thrill to see them."

"I was a pop-music junkie. My parents were into Frank Sinatra and Doris Day. They weren't too excited when I had Aretha or the Stones pumping."

"Listen to the Bee Gees and you can learn to be a great writer."

"I have breakups that I can credit to every song. In my twenties, I picked people who would create that dysfunction and drama, so I could draw upon it."

"I've never been fired in my life."

"Songwriters tell the truth."

"I'm a native New Yorker, so I'm edgier; I kind of tell it like it is."

"You need to understand that a skilled professional songwriter can accelerate your success as an already talented musician. These people are writing every single day, so their craft is really sharp, and it's the best songwriters who consistently get on the radio."

"There's a lot of craft that goes into achieving a hit song - at the beginning of your career, you're usually more inspiration than craft, and you get great when those intersect. A skilled songwriter can get you to that intersection."

"Some of the best songs that artists perform year after year are ones they hated."

"A great song should make you stop everything that you're doing. You should be so into it that you just can't imagine doing anything else for that moment. You wouldn't even dream of picking up the phone."

"Yeah... I was a singer as a kid. I had a lot of stage fright, and what's happened with 'Idol,' it has got me past so much of that."

"I felt like I got more comfortable on 'Idol' when I just started being myself and not trying to be what I thought I had to be."

"When I look at myself, I'd like not to have hair on the top of the ceiling."

"Good new songs are the backbone of the music industry. There isn't an artist out there who could survive without hit songs."