What do I think of myself? I know my worth. I know my value. I know I have to lead by example. I can't just be all over the place. I put the energy out that I want given back to me. And again, I'm true to me.

Whitney Houston is my idol and my mentor and my dream forever, like she will always be my favorite artist, ever, on the planet. Like I don't think I'll ever feel that way about another artist.

And I'm looking at him like, 'Oh my God. This is Michael Jackson'. I fainted, blacked out - like seriously blacked out.

I've figured out the secret. Your mind is your power; you have to work with your mind and work with your own thoughts about your own life. If you spend so much time thinking, "This industry is male-dominated. It's sexist. It's this. It's that," then that's what the picture will always be. I remember when I was coming up, I didn't have those thoughts. My mom told me I could be whatever I wanted to be and I could be as bright of a star as I was meant to be. So, that's where I put all of my focus and my thought...into what I could do. And I carry that with me now.

The '90s period I just miss because it was such a great time and the music was just so electric. Everybody just had to bring their A-game back then because everybody that was, you know, a big influence...they were on the charts. I bring that era with me everywhere I go. I care about every word I sing. I care about every move I make on stage. I care about the fans. I bring that with me to the present time. And then, when you're timeless, you can work in any time.

I think it's really finding that belief in yourself, where you just have it no matter what's going on, no matter what anyone else says. I think that's the challenge, is to really have that belief in yourself.

I was just so honored to play the role of Cinderella and to just be the first African-American princess, that's just historic for me, that's such a mark in my life and my career and then the bonus of just working with my favorite person in the whole world, Whitney [Houston], like her voice just did something to my spirit.