Madonna's not the best singer in the world, but she was awesome with her entertainment and all of her shock tactics and stuff and that's where it began. She then inspired all sorts of other girls to do that. But I don't know, I just think music's kind of important too. So you've gotta know where that line is especially when you are good at singing.

If you capture the first thought that you have when you're creating, and then play that to people, it's kind of like the listeners are part of that beginning. And that's the most exciting part.

I always try to write about something that's actually happened or it doesn't always have to have happened to me, but it has to have happened at some point. So every single lyric that you hear comes from some kind of story that I've come across in my life. I like to think that that maybe helps me mean it a bit more and if you don't mean it, it ceases to be soul music.

My family fight, that's the way it is. We're not common as muck or anything but we do have a little fight now and then.

I guess this year I'm going to find out if I'm good enough or not. If I'm not, I don't care. I'll do something else, it's not a biggie.

People will download the music for free and they'll pay for it if they want to give you a compliment. They don't have to pay for it. And the only way the artist can make money was by touring 'cause the record label didn't take that money. Unfortunately now, cause the record company's not making money from the downloads, now they want to take money away from everything.

The British press has been unfair to me and the public has followed.