I like to have songs with me that have substance. That's missing from a lot of today's music. You might hear a song with a catchy beat, but what's it about? It's not empowering or helping anyone.

I try to do everything to say, 'OK, will my mother like this? Will she be pleased? Will she be proud of that? How do I know she's happy and she's smiling down at me from heaven?' And that's what I try to go by and walk by.

I didn't start singing with my eyes open until I was 19 - that's how shy I was!

I am in control of all decisions that have to do with my image, which means that no one will decide what’s right for me except me. I’m not special. We should all feel this way about ourselves.

Sometimes God makes better choices for us than we could have ever made for ourselves.

I once had a crush on one of my teachers. I wrote him a love letter and stuck it in a bag in his office. I didn’t write my name on it, but I’m sure he figured out it was me.

I used to sing in the church choir. People would say it was unusual for such a small girl to have such a big voice. They would say, 'She sounds like she's grown.'