Make sure you have your own life before becoming someone's wife ~spoken to Oprah in an interview

I love the Backstreet Boys! I think they're very talented and I think their harmony is wonderful.

Power is not given to you. You have to take it.

I grew up upper-class. Private school, my dad had a Jaguar. We're African-American and we work together as a family, so people assume we're like the Jacksons. But I didn't have parents using me to get out of a bad situation.

Thank God for my computer. Sometimes when there is no one to talk to, I talk aloud so that I can get all my thoughts out and try to figure out the issues that I'm having and try, I'm trying to find the answers.

I wrote "Bootylicious" because, at the time, I’d gained some weight and the pressure that people put you under, the pressure to be thin, is unbelievable. I was just 18 and you shouldn’t be thinking about that. You should be thinking about building up your character and having fun and the song was just telling everyone just forget what people are saying. You’re bootylicious. That’s all. It’s a celebration of curves and a celebration of women’s bodies.

When you're a pop star, it's a little conservative; you always have to stay in a box. You have fans that are five and fans that are 65; there are so many people wanting so many things.