Thanks to many years studying music, Birdy's songwriting is as sophisticated as ever, but in some ways, the 19-year-old singer says she approaches sounds and lyrics the same way she did when she was a child.

In an interview with PopCrush featured above, Birdy, whose Beautiful Lies is due out Friday (March 25), says there's one type of story she's found herself telling again and again across her decade-plus penning tracks.

"My songwriting is inspired by what's going on around me still," she explains. "That's the same as when I was eight. I still absorb stories from other people and what my family and friends are going through."

"I love writing love songs but they're not always romantic love," she adds. "Sometimes it's friendship, sometimes it's between family — sometimes, romantic love, too."

And while Birdy's forthcoming third LP is her story from start to finish, she first broke into pop with a collection of covers in 2011 that included works by Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes and The Postal Service. The songs are some of her favorites, but she maintains there's a noticeable difference between playing borrowed material and sharing her own work.

"Performing covers is different to my own songs because I guess I'm feeling the music a bit more than the lyrics," she explains. "Although the lyrics are beautiful and all the songs I've covered, I've loved them all, but they're not really mine. It doesn't feel right to claim the lyrics as my own."

Listen to the full interview above, in which Birdy also shares her favorite cover she's performed across her career (hint: It's from The Naked and Famous' catalog), and which song she'd consider tackling next.

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