I sang a lot as a little girl and entered competitions. I loved singing in choirs, but it was as I got older that I really found my voice.

You just decide what your values are in life and what you are going to do, and then you feel like you count, and that makes life worth living. It makes my life meaningful.

If I hadn't been a singer, I might have been a photographer or an artist. But it's singing I love. I sing all the time, and I feel really good that I've expressed myself.

Whatever you do, you do out of a passion.

I have always been a very visual person and a keen observer.

In a sense, the music business and I haven't always been the best of bedfellows. Artists often have to fight their corner. Your music goes through these filters of record labels and media, and you're hoping you'll find someone who'll help you get your work into the world.

It's not fair to compare one artist to another because they all come with their own sort of elements to the picnic, you know.