I always had this dream to make a solo record. I told my mom when I was 7 years old, but I just ended up being in bands. I'm a free spirit. I follow my heart, and it's led me to where I am.

I don't want to have a song like 'My Humps' and it be sagging down, so I pay attention to that area. A lot.

I think everything happens for a reason and all of my choices have led me up to my solo album and made me stronger, not only as an artist but as a person. I want to do more the Black Eyed Peas albums and more of my own albums. I'm in this for the long run.

It was the hardest boyfriend I ever had to break up with.

I've learned to be more accepting of myself. I'm 37, not 18, and I've got the lines to prove it. I try to remind myself that a girl can have it all, just not all at once.

Part of my affinity with urban music comes from being on 'Kids Incorporated,' 'cos we used to sit around and listen to Chaka Khan and Prince, and I got influenced by all that. Then gangsta rap got started, and I was infatuated with that - maybe that's why I'm fascinated by guns.

Drugs make you lie. But honestly, in the beginning, I liked the fact that at first the drugs made me thinner. I did have a secret joy about that. But that lasted for about a month. And then all of a sudden I was too skinny. I lost my curves.