I'm used to getting up at 7, getting breakfast, getting the kids off to school, and doing the mommy thing and the wife thing and the daughter thing.

I would say that my peak was making my first million at the ripe age of 29, after the first album.

I have as many pictures of my vocal cords as I do of my children. I have a great ear, nose and throat doctor, and we look at them - if there's some redness, maybe I'll take a little time off.

You leave home to seek your fortune and, when you get it, you go home and share it with your family.

I think there's no sacrifice too great for family, whether it's career, singing, whatever.

It's impossible to write and produce a record when your parents are dying. I really tried, I really, really tried, but it just wouldn't come.

I used to sing at funeral homes for families that didn't have a vocalist. I didn't get paid. I needed to sing.