It took so long to make it in America. The year I arrived was a bad year for women singers, the record company told me. So I starved. I lived in a hotel so dreadful I can't even talk about it.

I wanted control over the merchandising, the actual packaging of the product. That was a big factor. The only way for me to exercise control on all those levels was to start my own label.

I don't know if it's a sign of all the chaos that is happening out there or not, but I've lately craved the structure and order of classical music, the balance and symmetry.

I am woman, hear me roar, in numbers too big to ignore, and I know too much to go back and pretend.

It took me a year to really learn the American lingo. I really feel for people who are coming here and don't speak English at all. It must be hell.

I'm a very private person, and when I leave the stage, I leave the stage.

Stop living a day at a time and stop worrying about age.