Singers

"You have a list of things that you want to do in life—to own your own house, to own your own car, to own your own yacht. [Making] wine was on my list, because it has a particular glamour to it."

"I wish I had a family. In the future I´ll try to figure out how to dedicate more time to my personal life, and yes, maybe think about a family, kids, comes an age when the body asks for it."

"Look, in my personal issues I'm very private. I would like to make clear that all the matters of my family, friends, my love life, is something that is for me, and I also prefer people to invent. It amuses me a lot when I read all the things they invent."

"I always wanted to have many friends, unfortunately, friends are formed with years, and not everybody know how to respond as a friend."

"I think any woman can be the ideal woman."

"Surprisingly, it is not like they say: "In this or in that country", no. There are beautiful women in every country."

"I have that weakness. I think women are one of the most beautiful creations that could be given by nature, by God."

"Solitude is good, desolation is bad. I have experienced both."

"I feel that destiny is a mixture of preparation and luck. You can be very lucky, but it is useless if you're not prepared. You can be prepared, but it is useless if you're not lucky."

"What I got as result was my work for two periods as mayor. She came as if she owned the place, but she has to earn respect first. I just met her when she presented as candidate; before, we never saw her."

"This is made since a long time in Pichilemu, because of that, and the anxiety of our inhabitants we are proposing that these beaches become legal."

"This proposal was made by the Pichileminian people. In Pichilemu, we have 15,000 inhabitants, and in summer this grows to 100,000, because we receive a lot of foreigner tourists, that love to visit beaches like Pichilemu's."

"Paulina Nin disrespected my town."

"If something have demonstrated the elections and the percentage she got (4,41%) is that nobody wanted her here."

"I always said that it was going to be beautiful that Paulina [Nin] presented me as entertainer and I sang."

"Sometimes, opening up your eyes and realising what you have – no matter how little you think – helps you find yourself."

"Stay in the middle, don't get pushed to the side, every chance that's worth taking, is a chance worth the fight"

"Don’t let life pass you by before you realise that it was worth living."

"I am a sensitive person, so it is actually saddening to learn that these poverty-stricken families are most of the time mistreated or looked down upon. Help the poor, like how you would want to be helped if you were in their position."

"評論《阿凡達》說，「野蠻強拆對於其他國家的觀眾來說，的確是一件超乎他們想像力的事情，也就是外星球和中國才可能發生。」"

"官方一会说转基因食品无害，一会说要严禁在世博园区里出现转基因的食品以免外国人误食，这是一种自己对自己的歧视么？"

"我花了很长时间去想，那些界定别人低俗的人，他们到底高雅在哪里，比如说有人花一百块嫖娼是低俗，有人用一百万去玩艺人就是高雅，有人看黄色图片是低俗，有人看红头文件是高雅，有人买个仿真枪是低俗，有人真枪一暴两个头是高雅，有人玩魔兽就是低俗，有人玩模特就是高雅..."

"I'm in love with a fairytale, even though it hurts. 'Cause I don`t care if I lose my mind; Im already cursed."

"Your boyfriends might be angry, my girlfriends might be blue. But no one can deny it, from now on I love you."

"Don`t promise me forever, just love me day by day."

"People call me stupid for treating you like a queen, but I dont even worry `cause you`re my unforeseen. And I hope that you`ll be with me, if only in my dreams. But here you are next to me and you`re glad, or so it seems."

"Every day we started fighting. Every night we fell in love. No one else could make me sadder. But no one else could lift me high above."

"No country can cease to exist. The stones don't walk."

"I see every director as a different brand. That way, it’s easy for me to compartmentalise my work. So I can easily switch from one film to the other and refresh myself when I hit a mental block. I don’t want my music to sound like a pastiche of other works. So I stop listening to my songs once the audio for a film is released. When I unwind, it’s usually with jazz."

"I’m camera shy. But I had to do a portfolio for my world tour. So Karthik of Dreamcast and I worked in tandem and conceptualised the shoot. I wanted a rock star look. Possibly, with just a bit of the face showing. Since the show is full of surprises, I wanted the promo photos too to kindle curiosity."

"I’ve no regrets in my personal and professional life. Being a spiritual person, I believe whatever happens, happens for the good. I simply follow what dad says, ‘With music, you can reach out and spread happiness.’"

"Karthik Raja is immensely talented. It’s unfortunate he hasn’t got the right break. Be it technology, manuscript or knowledge of genres, he is thorough. I’m sure he will make it ASAP."

"Life’s been quite a journey. My career has been slow, yet steady. I like it that way. I never wished for overnight success. Neither did I want to rush through my career and suffer a burn-out."

"Dad is a man of few words. He rarely discusses my compositions. But I hear him humming my numbers to my nephew. The recent one is a hit from the Telugu flick “Oy”. A musical genius in the family is both a huge advantage and a disadvantage. I’ve absorbed so much from my father. But, at the same time, fans keep writing to me saying they expect more from me — because of my lineage!"

"My mind’s buzzing with scripts. I want to do something really different. A long-term goal is to open an orphanage for kids. I’ve envisioned something of huge proportions. But first let me make the money for it."

"Dad used to say it’s [live recording] the backbone for any musical endeavour. And I’ve realised that with time. So most often, my re-recordings are live. Technology does enhance music, but the warmth of a live orchestra is incomparable. Fans wrote to me after ‘Oru Devadai…’ (“Vaamanan”) saying the score had a divine quality. That’s because it was done live. Besides, I’m also conscious of the employment problem that technology-driven music creates."

"I was never interested in studies. And honestly, I never felt I had it in me to make good music. I guess, the environment in which I grew up — dad neck-deep in music, my sister Bavatharini on the piano all the time and brother Karthik Raja constantly hooked on the latest music technology — just stirred me to take the first step. ‘Thuluvatho Ilamai’ and ‘Poovellam Kaettupaar’ proved to be turning points."

"A. R. Rahman: "She’s a real powerhouse...Somebody played me her CD and I thought, ‘Who is this girl? She came here and knew all my work, had followed my work for ages. I said, ‘Cut the crap, this “my idol” crap. You have to teach me.""

"Anthony Napolitan: "I think I have a thing for female singers; I like the way they sound. MIA is a very unique one at that. [Paper Planes] is an all-time favorite for me. I just like it!""

"Ryan McGinley: "We had to basically rig a truss for this swing; it was a major production to make sure it was safe. I tried it out. M.I.A. might have gotten there and said, 'I'm not doing this; this is too crazy.' But she got on and just started swinging like it was something normal. "I remember her saying, 'If I'm going to go out, this is an awesome way to go.'""

"Luella Bartley: "She had an unabashed in-your-face craziness that I loved, admired, and identified with.""

"Kesh: "I appreciate M.I.A.. A real artist.""

"Karl Lagerfeld: "Nowadays people give the middle finger quite quickly - it's not the best behaviour. Everybody does that, what's new about that? It's just become a bad habit. People in magazines are 50% bimbo and 50% pregnant women" February 7, 2012 [on M.I.A. flipping the middle finger to the camera during the 2012 Superbowl half-time show]"

"Jean-Charles de Castelbajac: "I have collaborated with M.I.A. for four years but I also like Metronomy and Ebony Bones. There are a lot of talented people around." 2010"

"Eric Daman and Meredith Markworth-Pollack: "Vanessa is a breath of fresh air. She’s the Lower East Side, Raising Victor Vargas home-girl. One night we saw M.I.A. in concert wearing a sequin sailor suit and were like “Omigod, she is so Vanessa.”" [on M.I.A. being the inspiration for the costumes of character Vanessa Abrams on television series Gossip Girl."

"Donatella Versace: "Her music and style seemed so fresh and innovative. She is a total artist." [for Designer's Musician Muses (2011)"

"Carri "Cassetteplaya" Mundane:"

"Wayne Coyne of Flaming Lips: "The new M.I.A. I like the "Born Free" single with the Suicide sample. I didn't like the video that much. But I like her. I think she's a badass. She's a freak. She's cool. She's intense. I think she gets a bit too bitchy sometimes, but I don't care." - on what he was listening to, July 2010, Rolling Stone"

"Vampire Weekend:"

"Trent Reznor: "The only thing that I play in my car right now is Arular by a girl named M.I.A., the most innovative artist in years." (2005) [Reznor subsequently wanted to collaborate with M.I.A. in 2005, and added her songs "Pull Up The People", "Hombre" and "Galang" to the setlist of Pre-Show Music played at Nine Inch Nails Lights in the Sky concert tour (2008 - 2009). 2005,"