While Travie McCoy spent most of 2013 recording his upcoming, as-yet-untitled sophomore LP—led by the Jason Mraz collaboration "Rough Waters"—he admired other hitmakers that ruled the charts, including his pick for this year's MVP of music: Pharrell.

"Talk about a killer year: 'Blurred Lines'; and the couple joints with Daft Punk, which are amazing," he says at Z100's Jingle Ball 2013. "Pharrell had a hella-big year, it's crazy. I think he killed this year." (Can't say we disagree, we had to include a Pharrell joint on our 41 Best Songs of 2013 list.)

But the Gym Class Heroes' singer/rapper is prepping himself for a successful 2014. Not only will he drop his new record—he says he's currently "tying up loose ends"—but he's been taking vocal lessons while recording it.

Watch the full interview below for more on what he learned from voice lessons and his upcoming music. And don't miss Jingle Ball interviews with other dudes who killed it in 2013 like Robin Thicke, telling Fuse about duetting with Ron Burgundy, and Fall Out Boy detailing their Victoria's Secret Fashion Show experience.