Kidsday interviews Cody Simpson

We interviewed 15-year-old singer Cody Simpson in Manhattan recently. We were lucky to meet him. He is going on tour and won't be back in our area until his concert in August at Jones Beach.

We saw you with the family on "Extreme Makeover." How did that experience change you?

It changed me because I got to meet a family that had really been devastated by bullying and I help out a lot with bullying, charities and stuff like that. I make sure I do what I can to help out. It's always good. . . . I'm very humbled by situations like that.

Where is your favorite place to perform?

I love performing right here in New York City.

What inspired you to become a singer?

Not much else than my love for singing. Lots of people have, like, certain singers and certain people in their lives that inspire them to become singers. My dad introduced me to singing, but you know it was really my own motivation to do it.

Do you have the same friends you had before you became famous? Do they treat you differently now?

My real friends treat me the same, and they're the ones I make sure I keep in touch with and talk to. And most of them are back in Australia, and I'm always texting them every single day. I have made a few friends over here, and I've made some great relationships over here, too, but I try to make sure I keep my Australian friends as much as I can.

Is it difficult to write your own lyrics or does it just come naturally?

It seems to come naturally, like whenever I'm in the studio and I write my songs, I usually can write them pretty quickly. I just love writing songs and I think it's cool like I get to experience so much and like to put that all to music.

How many months out of a year are you away from home?

Home meaning Australia or my house in L.A.? Australia? How many months of the year? Eleven and a half.

What do your parents think about your fame?

My family really [are] the people in my life that have encouraged what I do and support me as much as they can. They're my family and they'll always encourage every dream that I have. I think that's really cool of them. My family and I have an amazing relationship. My sister and brother and I are really close. We like to travel together and everything, so it's cool.

What is one challenge that you overcame to become famous?

I used to be very shy, and if you ask me, like, that's probably not the best thing when I'm living such a busy lifestyle and I'm always having to go onstage in front of huge crowds. And right now, I definitely gained a lot of self-confidence over the last year to be able to go out and perform for them, and it's something that I love to do now. But when I first started, I was very shy and very nervous all the time, and now I've definitely overcome that.

What TV show would you like to star on?

There's this crime show called "The Mentalist." It features an Australian actor [Simon Baker]. I'm a big fan of his, and I would love to go on. . . .

Do you go to school still or do you get home schooled?

I get home schooled. So, every time I'm in L.A., which is where I've been living, I had a teacher that comes to the house and we do school, and whenever I'm traveling like I am now, she'll send me work and email me stuff to do. I think schooling is very important.