Austin Mahone on new EP, Justin Bieber and girls
At just 18 years old, Austin Mahone has racked up millions of views on YouTube, toured with Taylor Swift, collaborated with Pitbull and already snagged an MTV Video Music Award.
Now the the Texas native, who counts Justin Bieber among his friends, is gearing up to release his new EP, called "The Secret," on May 27.
That same week, he'll hit the "Today" show stage in New York's Rockefeller Center and will follow that up with a slew of summer tour dates.
We caught up with the teen pop sensation this week about music, Bieber, girls, the #GetThereSafe initiative and more. See what he had to say:
On his new EP "The Secret": "I've been working on this for about two years now, so I'm excited to finally release this to my fans and the world. I know they're all going to enjoy it."
On new EP's sound: "The sound is similar to one of my singles called 'What About Love.' There's one song on there that I wrote and produced myself -- 'All I Ever Need.' I wrote it in the bathroom."
On his dream collaboration: "I'd love to collaborate with Drake. It's been discussed a little bit."
On which artist he looks up to: "I admire Drake. He's worked very hard since the beginning. I've seen how he's evolved through the years and how he carries himself."
On hitting the studio recently with Justin Bieber: "He had a song he had written about a year ago. And he came to Miami to record it with me. We took about a week working on that...I'm not sure if I'm going to put that out yet, but if I do it will probably be around next year."
On advice to young artists: "I would say just keep doing what you love. Keep focused on what it is you want...and don't pay attention to other people around you who want to bring you down. Then you'll go very far. Keep your head up high."
What he looks for in a girl: "I look for a girl that I can talk to about pretty much anything and that I can be myself around."
Ideal date: "Maybe a date on the beach."
What's next: "The end of the year -- like in November -- I'm going to put out a full album."
Mahone also recently teamed with the the Allstate Foundation to encourage smart teen driving through its #GetThereSafe teen driving program. It's all part of Global Youth Traffic Safety month in May.
What he wants teens to know: "The main three things teens need to understand -- when you're driving you got to buckle up...Second, you got to slow down -- don't speed -- and third: Don't let your friends distract you in the car by showing you pictures or turning on the radio...wait until you get to your destination."
How he learned to drive: "Since I grew in Texas, we had big roads. So me and my family would go driving together."
What he drives: "A Range Rover."
Check out Mahone's "What About Love" video below:
