John Mayer on rejection and what saved his life

CEBU, Philippines - John Mayer made quite an impression on the university crowd that heard him speak last week. The Grammy winner shared a number of personal anecdotes and overall was “very articulate and charming” and seemed “very happy,” according to an Oxford student.

During his talk with the Oxford Student Union, Katy Perry’s boyfriend opened up about past rejection in his career, his duet with his girlfriend and his pivotal move to Montana after Los Angeles got to be too much for him. “Moving to Montana saved my life, every month keeps getting better and better,” he said.

“He said, he was sick of feeling scared of riding his bike in L.A. and feeling like the paparazzi was always following him,” a source said. “He loved ‘how quiet and peaceful’ Montana was.”

And while the world at large may not think that Mayer hears the word “no” very often, he said that it indeed has happened. “One time a producer told him, ‘There’s no hits on here. You need to write more songs,’” the source recounted. “He went home and cried in the car because he had spent so much time on the songs and thought they were good.”

“He tried to write some more songs, but he didn’t like them as much as the ones he wrote originally. He kept the original track and just went for it. I think the album was Continuum.” Mayer then “continued about the importance of staying true to who you are. He wants to appeal to everyone by having different genres, rather than just one.”

“He was saying how number-ones don’t really mean that much to him,” the source continues. “He’ll never be that upset about not getting [a No. 1 song]. To him, it was more about longevity and having a career rather than number-ones. “When he had a song that got No. 2, he got a cake with a No. 2 on it.”

“It’s more impressive when someone has a career” and John said that when people only produce No.1  hits, “people are performing for what people want them to do, not what they want to do. He continued on his theory that it’s better to have longevity in your career, not just number-ones.”

Despite its ubiquity, “Your Body Is a Wonderland” only climbed as high as No. 18 on the pop singles chart in the U.S. But for the record, Mayer has had three No. 1 albums, “Heavier Things,” “Battle Studies,” and “Born and Raised.”

Talking about his duet with Perry on “Who You Love,” Mayer said that he didn’t plan on it, it just sort of happened. “He didn’t write it for Katy and him to sing, but it felt right,” said the source. (FREEMAN)