Even though there's no forum for me on the radio for the kind of music I sing anymore, I am still excited about having a career where I can sing the best music in the world, and people will come and hear me because of the hit records I've had in the past.

When I do an album I try to find a producer that's excited about something that they want me to sing, and I check with the record company to find out what they think they can sell - which is their No. 1 priority.

It's very much like opera singers. They do the same thing. The first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, the thing they think about is their voice and how to take care of it.

And fortunately, I haven't had any problem with my voice. I've been able to sing at a level of consistency that the people are expecting.

When you're doing bad things, you just don't know whether you can conquer them or not. I found out how strong I could be when I was motivated, and I'm kind of proud of that.

In other words, the celebrity gets out of hand, and if youre not careful, you will forget what you are about - and that is you are about making music that people want to hear.

I think there are a lot of people who really want to be famous, they really do. I don't. It sort of gets in the way of the everyday things that I do.