GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Mary Lambert recently visited The Recording Academy's headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., to participate in an exclusive GRAMMY.com interview. Lambert discussed the making of her forthcoming debut studio album, Heart On My Sleeve, and the benefits of vulnerability, among other topics.

"You can't really be empathetic until you've allowed yourself to be open… [and] that's sort of the idea of Heart On My Sleeve," said Lambert. "I have gained so much more from my experiences of being open and loving humanity rather than being jaded and being closed-off."

Raised in Everett, Wash., Lambert began playing piano and writing songs at age 6, and taught herself guitar at 10. After graduating from Cornish College of the Arts with a bachelor degree in music composition, Lambert discovered spoken-word performance and won Seattle's Grand Slam Poetry Competition in 2011. In 2012 she released her debut EP, Letters Don't Talk, and got her big break when she was asked to sing on and write the chorus for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' "Same Love," which was featured on their GRAMMY-winning album The Heist. "Same Love" peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and garnered Lambert her first career GRAMMY nominations for Song Of The Year and Album Of The Year for 2013 as a featured artist on The Heist. Lambert performed the hit with the hip-hop duo and Madonna at the 56th GRAMMY Awards on Jan. 26. 

Heart On My Sleeve follows the release of Lambert's 2013 EP Welcome To The Age Of My Body, which cracked the Top 20 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. Produced by Eric Rosse and Benny Cassette, Heart On My Sleeve is scheduled for release Oct. 14 and features 14 tracks, including the title track, "When You Sleep" and "Secrets." 

Lambert is currently in the midst of a North American tour, with select dates scheduled through October.