Pop Star Supports Anti Bullying Between Concerts

Cody Simpson has more on his mind than his next concert.

While his mall tour has brought in large crowds as he promotes his new 'Coast to Coast' recording, such as his recent stop at , Simpson’s passions extend past music.

Simpson encourages love and respect. He practices what he preaches by being involved in an anti-bullying campaign called Defeat The Label out of Detroit.

The 14-year-old pop star spoke with Patch about growing up signing, playing guitar-driven music and seeing firsthand how widespread bullying can be.

What has your involvement been with Defeat the Label?

“Two days ago I did an event in Detroit with them. About four or five thousand people showed up. I asked the crowd how many people have been bullied. Ninety five percent of the people put their hands up. That's why I'm involved. This is something that affects kids. I want to change that."

What do you think about the Chicago area?

"I love Chicago. We've been here many times. It's one of my favorite cities in the U.S. We usually stay in the city to visit different landmarks. I enjoy the Hard Rock Cafe."

How did you find music?

"I was singing for fun at eight years old. It's something that's in my blood. I hadn't started taking vocal lessons until I moved (to the United States) after I signed with Atlantic. This has been a great ride. I started singing country music like Johnny Cash and Keith Urban. That's the music I grew up with. I listen to a lot of Jack Johnson. I love Elvis Presley, he's a big inspiration of mine. Justin Timberlake is a big one as well. I try and incorporate different things in my music. My upcoming full-length album will be coming out in the first quarter of next year. It's going to be much of the style we've already released. It's the way I love my music to be, very guitar driven."

How do you keep up with it all without getting overwhelmed?

"I always believed in myself since I was little. Before I moved here, I was a swimmer. Actually I am an Australian Champion for my age group since I was about ten until the age of fourteen. I was very determined and motivated. The swimming prepared me for how hard I have to work doing the music. The moment I realized I was making this a success was a few months ago. I was getting tons of fans and everything started going crazy doing these mall tours. Thousands of fans are now showing up. Things are really happening."

Patch also asked three Cody Simpson fans at Orland Square Mall what questions they would ask him given the chance. Here are the answers:

From Alexa Ray: What was the hardest part about leaving your home in Australia?  

Leaving my friends. Over here I'm doing home schooling. It's hard to find some of that social time. I made lots of friends here but I keep in touch with all my friends in Australia. It was hard to leave them and my family such as my grandparents and cousins. I've made two or three good friends in the U.S. I don't like to have tons and tons of friends, just a small group that I keep close to me. My friends in Australia are very close. We've been friends before all this stuff happened. I've met a few friends in the business over here. It's good to keep just a few close ones around you."

From Hailey: Do you ever get tired of being on tour?

No, because every day is a different experience. Meeting different fans that I'm going to sing for is exciting. Just meeting new people in a new place is always a new experience.

From Ashleigh: Who inspired you the most?

I find this question hard. There wasn't one artist who inspired me to sing and do music. It was my own passion after my dad because I listened to him play and sing. He's the guy who first introduced me to the guitar. My parents are the total opposite of people who want to be in the public. I really appreciate their support. They moved to the other side of the world, for me.

If you would like to join Simpson in the anti-bullying movement, go to http://www.DefeatTheLabel.com