I was a pop-music junkie. My parents were into Frank Sinatra and Doris Day. They weren't too excited when I had Aretha or the Stones pumping.

I've never been fired in my life.

Look at someone like Ke$ha. I wouldn't say she's got the most rangy, incredible voice, but she's got a thing. She stands for something, and people are buying into that.

I don't go to record stores to look at my albums, but it's always a thrill to see them.

I was a pop-music junkie. My parents were into Frank Sinatra and Doris Day. They weren't too excited when I had Aretha or the Stones pumping.

I'm a native New Yorker, so I'm edgier; I kind of tell it like it is.

Good new songs are the backbone of the music industry. There isn't an artist out there who could survive without hit songs.