On the heels of his first album debut, Coming Home, Leon Bridges sat down with RL Mag for their latest installment of the Coffee @ Ralph’s Q&A to discuss his standout year, singing at the White House, and his appreciation for every stop on the road that got him where he is now. Bridges told the magazine that when he was younger he promised himself that when he could afford a suit, he’d wear one everyday. His mantra back then — “If I’m gonna put in any effort, I might as well do it right” — has very much become the guiding principle for the rest of his life, and it’s evident in everything Bridges takes on.

Bridges flushes when he talks about President Obama calling him an “upcoming soul star,” admits that if music didn’t work out, he had high hopes of one day becoming a barber, and confesses that the person he’d love to have Coffee @ Ralph’s with would be Beyoncé, and that he’d love to ask her what her favorite dessert is.