When I was invited to sing with Pavarotti, I had about two weeks to learn Italian.
When you have great songs that are going to live longer than the composers, everything you can do to bring those different elements and nuances out, serve the song.
There are certain people who have become better artists, but they're brilliant at marketing. I think someone who's been phenomenal like that is Madonna.
With the internet, things are so much more immediate. People taste-test things to see if they want to buy the CD.
Someone told me there was a publisher that could find a good home for my songs, but I didn't want to give up my pursuit of a career in the business as an artist.
The bigger you are, the harder they come down on you.
Black music has increased my enjoyment of what I do. It has increased my range, my ability to reach into myself and accept myself.
It's an important thing to remember where you came from.
One song will launch you, but you don't want to be a one-song artist.
To sing along with Stevie Wonder, you had to make your voice do things it was not accustomed to doing.