On the tabloids:

“I despise what they do. They create soap operas out of people’s lives. [Cameron and I] had our thing, and it’s over. They edit that stuff like MTV edits reality shows. It’s a spin game, and I choose not to take part in it.”

On being considered the New King of Pop:

“I tried so hard to be an R&B artist [with first solo album Justified] and it was the pop album of the year, and I was like, ‘F$$k. That’s the last thing I wanted but I was like, ‘So everyone considers me a pop artist? Well, f$$k it. I’m going to do whatever I want to do.”

On surviving the boy-band apocalypse and becoming a man:

“I could give you a bunch of analogies about why I’m still around that would sound like hippie self-help bulls$$t. ‘I saw an opportunity and I took it?’ F$$k you. Sure, there’s a lot of luck involved. But on some level I have to believe in my ability. And I’m not apologizing to anyone. I worked f$$king hard to get here.”

On being used by the Grammys for ratings:

“I’m the nice guy who follows through on the things he commits to. But I don’t know if I’ll be going through that sort of thing again. I feel like the Grammys used me for ratings. And look at it-they were up 18 percent.”