Mars: "A lot of people are really quick to say, 'That song sounds like this.' Or you - 'He's tryin' to sound like this.' And I'm always like, 'You're damn right I am. That's how - that's why we're all here.' You know, we all grew up idolizing another musician. That's how this works. That's how music is created."

Mars: "To write a song you must have an imagination, to have an imagination you must be free."

Mars: "I feel like you have to constantly keep proving yourself, and you have to constantly keep getting out there and showing them you're more than just that one song on the radio that's just playing. And that's what I had to do the first time around; I had to keep going out there and keep performing live."

Mars: "It's just all love. That's what music is. That's why music is created. To make people feel good, to uplift people. That's what musicians are for: to give everyone an escape, to let everyone feel good and take people out of everyday problems, so that they can hear music and sing words that are hopefully relatable."

Mars: "Be in control. Know who you are. And don't try to be different just to be different."

Mars: "What I like about Elvis is the same thing I like about James Brown, Michael Jackson, Prince. These guys, back in the day, there was no smoke and mirrors. It was just raw talent. They would step out onstage and command an audience."

Mars: "I've learned people are watching, so don't do nothing stupid."

Mars: "Every time I try to write a song, when I sit down and think I'm going to write, I really want to write a song, and it never works out. It's always when it hits me unexpectedly on a plane or right before I go to bed, something like that."

Mars: "I used to be like a loudmouth. You know the guy, people would want to take his money. If you do get them to lose, they're out for you, they're gunning for you. And that's when they're weak. And that's when you jump or pounce on them."

Mars: "You gotta know what you are, who you are and how you want to be portrayed."

Mars: "I think everybody don't know what color I am. It's like, 'He's not black enough. He's not white enough. He's got a Latin last name but he doesn't have - he doesn't speak Spanish. Who are we selling this to? Are you making urban music? Are you making pop music? What kind of music are you making?'"

Mars: "I can show you in music better than I can tell you in words."

Mars: "It's dedicating yourself to your craft. Spending thousands of hours in a studio learning how to write a song, learning how to play different chords, training yourself to sing. You know, to get better and better."

Mars: "I got so much love for classical music and I hear so much incredible music.You should know a bunch of music and have respect for all sorts of genres and styles of music."

Mars: "Any young, aspiring musicians out there, if music is what you want to do, if music is what you love and your passion. It doesn't take a fragrance, it's not about the tabloids, it's about you putting in the work, practicing every day, practicing your vocals, practicing your instrument, practicing songwriting. Hopefully one day you write the song the whole world wants to get down to. I promise you, if you go out there and sing and you put your heart and soul into it and you follow your dream, one day you're going to be sitting next to Ellen DeGeneres talking about how you broke records and rocked the Super Bowl."

Mars: "I feel it's my job to continue being a student of music if I want to continue being an artist and a producer of other artists. You have to keep filling your mind with other music. You have to be ahead of the curve."

Mars: "I could sing you a thousand and one doo-wop songs. I love the simplicity in that music. It's not super-poetic, it's just from the heart."

Mars: "You aspire to be as great as Michael Jackson is as an artist. I don't think any artist in pop, rock or hip-hop has ever done it any bigger than him. You know what I mean? He's the man."

Mars: "I've had big record label presidents look me in the face and say, 'Your music sucks, you don't know who you are, your music is all over the place, and we don't know how to market this stuff. Pick a lane and come back to us.'"

Mars: "Someone told me something that stuck with me: 'You have to envision your life, and then go backwards.' I've been living by that motto for a while, so I see where I need to be. Now I'm just backtracking and trying to get back up there."

Mars: "My goals are - I don't need much. I'm a simple man. I think that success is having fun. And when I'm having fun doing music, I'm happy. If I can make a little money on the side doing it, I'm really happy."

Mars: "I think I don't take myself too seriously. You know as far as, it's a fun life. I take my music serious, but I like to have fun."

Mars: "I write a lot of songs about being in love, how beautiful women are but I've definitely experienced that other side of love where you're in a situation where you love a girl so much but you just know for a fact that she doesn't love you the same. 'Grenade' is the extreme way of saying 'I'd do anything for you and why can't I feel you would do the same for me?'"

Mars: "There's always a bittersweet kind of thing, but I feel like everything had to work out the way it is. Everything that had to happen, happened."

Mars: "I feel, as a songwriter, it's one of the hardest things to do - to sit down and say how you feel."