I'm careful what I put out there into the universe, musically. I don't take it lightly.

It's important to me that the words that I put out there into the cosmos, into the universe, be empowering or somehow positive for people that hear them, or maybe be cathartic if someone is having a relationship that's having a tough time.

Wherever there's a human being there's going to be somebody that tries to hold you back.

It's a universal story, it's an immigrant story, and it's a love story. In the United States, if you believe in yourself and you're determined and persevere, you're going to succeed.

My daughter is almost a young lady. She's going to be 10 years old in December and I want to be there day-in and day-out.

There are so many beautiful things that are a part of the world, and Ive always looked at life that way; Ive always tried to put on a smile and a brave front, not just for my kids but in my own life and all the difficulties that Ive gone through.

Well first of all, I'm a singer. I sing since I talk. So the great ballad singers, the people that sang with so much feeling, jazz, blues, all those singers, they were songs that I listened to, records that my mom played for me, and then later I bought.