Becoming Quote by Kara DioGuardi

When I first got my record deal, I was like, 'I just want to sing,' and I never put much thought into what really…

— Hilary Duff

The idea that I could write songs that people wanted to hear came from other people who said they liked what I did.

— Benmont Tench

I built a reputation as a songwriter in the industry before my own hits. People were used to coming to me for songs. There…

— Emeli Sande

I was a different person before I started to write. When I realized I could be a songwriter and that people would listen -…

— Gwen Stefani

My lesson from that [songwriting process] was that I should go back to where I was and try to make that first pure even…

— Yukimi Nagano

When I think about my career and how it all started, it really started with me getting to a point where I understood how…

— Corey Smith

I didn't feel like I was allowed to be a songwriter. I thought I had to be a really intelligent lyricist, like a poet.

— Kate Nash

I was mainly a songwriter; I really wasn't much of a performer.

— J. J. Cale

I wanted to be part of pop culture, so I started songwriting, and I got signed to my first record deal.

— Bebe Rexha

I didn't want to repeat my mistakes so I stopped, took some time out and started having therapy. My songs were bringing up feelings…

— Neil Diamond

I wasn't letting people in with the music writing process, and for a long time, I thought I was hard to work with.

— Tobias Forge

I didn't mean to be a songwriter; I just was writing for fun, you have all day to do it. I was homeless so…

— Jewel