"You can't just say something like that and expect me not to give my two cents, do you? Neither of our voices are going anywhere. You can continue practicing keeping your notes steady in a bit, just hear me out for a moment."
The first statement was true. He didn't have any idea about Drake's past. About all he knew was that the kid had passion for music. Well, that, and he liked cream soda floats. But as someone who had been a kid who was told not to like himself, told not to be himself, he wasn't going to listen to a kid say that without trying to offer some kind of consolence.
Especially because he could hear it in that voice. Danny had internalized a lot of how he was treated when he was young. But one thing he didn't, was being told not to like himself. Maybe he would have, if not for his mother. She reminded her to love. To be kind. To keep singing, to keep dancing. And now, look where he was today! There was a lot of good, that a parental like figure could do for a child.
When they actually loved children unconditionally.
"When someone doesn't like themselves, their passions are stifled. It doesn't mean they can't be stars. Take it from me, there are some pretty big ones that are really insecure about themselves! But when you're self assured, it's... hard to explain."
Danny took a moment. He needed to figure out the right words.
"I guess I should clarify. Liking yourself doesn't mean you don't feel things. This is just between you and me, but even I get really sad sometimes. But disliking yourself can hold back those emotions, because you're afraid of judgment."
Hypocrite. Danny was self assured, that was a truth. But stars knew he held back his own emotions.
"It's... complicated. Maybe there's something I can do to help you like yourself a little bit more."
He wasn't going to ask Drake to tell him what he may have done. That would come when Drake was comfortable. He'd do his best to help out going forward, rather than trying to force himself into Drake's past. Drake could let him into his past, once he was ready.